Old New Beginning
by twistedsteps301
Summary: After moving away for about two years, Bob uproots his family again taking them back to Hillwood. Something Helga isn't looking forward to, but it isn't something she will argue either. It's the beginning of summer, new discoveries about hidden feelings are sure to surface along with unexpected drama...(BEING REWRITTEN!)
1. Chapter 1

**Made a few updates, this was my first chapter and I kind of threw it together. Sorry if it didn't seem too tempting of a read, finding the right words to capture the audiences' attention is in the works. I do appreciate everyone that has taken the time to read my work so far. So here is Chapter 1 again, a few additions as well. I felt like it was missing something, so here is the something. I welcome all critiques no matter how harsh. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold!**

The ear piercing ring of the bell snapped her out of her daydream, she had been daydreaming a lot lately. It was hard not to, summer was over in a flash and now she sat in 12th grade math, _ugh math! _She just kept thinking about the previous weekend and the events that played out. As she walked through the crowded halls of the high school, trying her best to keep her balance against the swarm of people, she kept looking for him. All day had been wasted staring out the classroom windows, not one word of any lecture being remembered. _I'll have to call Phoebe later for notes. _Helga thought as she walked out the doors heading for the parking lot.

She was placing her bags into the back seat of her new car, unbelievably Bob had bought it for her as an early graduation present. She took one last look at the building before opening the driver side door, suddenly she felt hands on her hips. She was spun around on her toes, his lips gently, but passionately found hers.

"You miss me?" he said, his lips curling up into a smirk. He pulled her in for a tight embrace which she returned. She sighed as her head lay on his chest, hearing his heartbeat, its' slow rhythmic beat placing a calm around her. As she lay her head on his chest, she couldn't help but think of the events leading up to this moment. How if she hadn't gone to Phoebe's party earlier that summer, would she have met him under different circumstances? Would the outcome have been different if so?

A few months earlier...

Well it was finally becoming a reality, the last box was loaded onto the moving truck, the door closed with a loud slam, and locked. Helga, now 17, stood in the doorway leading into the empty remnants of the house she had called home the last two years. She had been moved there when Bob decided to sell his beeper store in Hillwood, and just in time, the store went out of business less than six months after the sale was finalized.

After moving from their old home in Hillwood, Bob took up a partnership with a big well known business. He hit it big with the company, and was able to pay for Helga to be sent to a private boarding school a few states over, in hopes of finally having a reason to be proud of the daughter he barely noticed.

Helga took this advantage she had been given and ran with it, finally able to start off fresh and get the hell away from her parents for a while. She was really able to get in touch with her inner girl, well being at an all-girls school kind of helped fine tune that. Almost all indications of the old Helga G. Pataki were all but gone except one thing that hadn't surfaced for some time…..

The football headed boy.

She would admit that she was pretty heartbroken when she had gotten the news to move, she would be losing all of what few friends she did have, and of course she would probably never see _him_ again. It was hard but after a few months passed it got a little easier, and then she pretty much stopped thinking of him all together. Until today…

It was finally time to leave, Bob had convinced his companies' more powerful shadows to extend their reach to Hillwood. This turned out to be a huge success for both, Bob was named the CEO of the new location, and soon bags were packed, house was sold, and time to go was now.

Helga felt a little intimidated with the thought of going back, she kept in touch with her childhood best friend Phoebe, but that was about the only tie she held to her old life. She had to admit, this was a little nerve wrecking, and she had changed so much, inside and out.

She stood in the doorway drifting into a daze when the sound of the car door slamming brought her back to reality.

"Come on Helga we don't have all day!" Bob yelled out the driver side window.

"Yeah, yeah I'm comin." Helga huffed, of course he gets my name right when he has to yell at me, she thought as she walked to the car.

The car ride was long and boring, not to mention the music Bob chose to play was absolutely horrid. Helga grabbed her head phones and tried her best to drown out the awful noise without destroying her hearing in the process. She scrolled through her music list finding one of her favorite songs, hit play, and let the sweet sounds drown out the world around her.

Slowly she began drifting off, thoughts rapidly going through her head, _I wonder how everyone is doing, who all is even still around, is HE still there? _Yes, she kept in touch with Phoebe, but not too much ever came up about anyone else. Phoebe had started dating Gerald, big surprise, their freshman year, and have been inseparable. She even spoke about their plans to attend the same college upstate. Phoebe spoke of_ HIM_ once, telling Helga about a double date she had went on with Gerald. How Gerald had tripped on who knows what, and fell into a waiter holding a large tray of desserts, covering the nearby onlookers in sweets.

Helga had learned then that Arnold had started dating Lila, little miss goody-two-shoes. Disgusted by the intel, Helga changed the subject to avoid any more unwanted information filling her ears. She had no problems with Lila, so why did this bother her? Maybe she still carried a few feeling for Arnold, but nothing major like before, like her years of unending obsession. Those days were long gone for her.

She let the sound of the music take her thoughts and nervous feelings away, to simply enjoy a little peace. And just like that Helga was snapped back into reality upon seeing the city limits sign for Hillwood, her gut started doing flips. _Why the hell am I so nervous?_ She thought. _Damn that drive was quicker than I remember._ She began fidgeting more and more, _what would people think of the new Helga? Would anyone even care that I'm back? Wait! Why am I so worried? _She sank down into the back seat, trying her best to conceal herself from the outside world, she didn't understand why she was getting so nervous.

Her appearance had, had quite the transformation the two years she had been gone. The signature unibrow she once had was now history, replaced by two very well groomed eye brows, her face had taken a shape of beauty, not to mention time hadn't been cruel to her body. Sporting her now slender, and fit body thanks to all the workouts she had started to reduce her stress. The pigtails she once had were now just a childhood memory; her hair fell freely, and flowed down about midway of her back. She was needless to say not the goofy looking girl that once plagued her in the mirror.

"Alright! Here we are" Bob boomed from the front of the car, causing Helga to jump, "Let's get this going. I want to be done by dark and then FOOD! I'm starved!"

"Yes dear." Miriam responded in her usual nonchalant tone, adjusting her glasses on her nose.

"Yeah sure." Helga said, with even less enthusiasm as usual. She was still peering out the window, thoughts running ramped in her mind. _I hope Phoebe is free today_, she thought as she got out of the car. Now standing in front of the new house she couldn't help but notice how much bigger this one was, "Nice." she said to herself.

**Well I made a few changes to this chapter. I should have read it more closely before posting it but I just rushed it. Anyways, thoughts, ideas, reviews, please feel free. **


	2. Chapter 2 Is it just me or is it hot?

**Ok, sorry about my first chapter, it kind of sucked. I will probably make changes, but thank you to the ones that read it.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold!**

Helga walked up to her new bedroom, it was much bigger than her old one. "WOW!" she said aloud, "There is a freaking balcony!" _So cool!_ She thought to herself as she beamed. She even had her own bathroom, it was huge, walk-in shower and everything. Not to mention the walk-in closet! This was by far the coolest room she had ever had.

_Piiiinnnngg! _"Hmmm, a message from Phoebe" She said aloud, "Hey, did you make it yet? Let me know soon, ok? I'm having a pool party today and you are invited." Helga rolled her eyes at the message that followed, "No exceptions!" _Great_, she thought to herself. She groaned at the thought of it, but at the same time maybe it would be fun. She needed it after the drive from hell she had just had.

"Ok. But my swimsuit is still packed up somewhere." Helga text back.

"No biggie, I have one you can borrow. Now come on! " Phoebe replied.

The great thing about moving back when they did was it was the start of summer, the weather was perfect. Also, the next best thing was there was no need for going through the awkwardness of transferring schools. Helga had all summer to catch up with what was going on instead of trying to get it all done in one class period. This was a chance to totally skip the awkward stage and slowly get herself back into the groove of things. She began to smile at the thought of seeing her old friend, she really missed her.

Helga walked downstairs just in time to see Bob totally losing his marbles at one of the movers. Seeing a broken lamp on the floor cleared up her questioning expression.

"What the hell!" He yelled at them, "Break another one and I will break your…" he was cute off.

"Bob!" Helga yelled, trying to get his attention.

He turned and gave her a look of complete frustration, "Yeah, what?"

"I just wanted to let you know I was going out. I'm headed over to Phoebe's for a while." She said.

"Ok." He said quickly returning his attention back on the movers.

Helga grabbed her bag and headed to the nearest bus stop texting Phoebe along the way. When she finally reached the pickup stop for the bus she sat down on the bench. She noticed that it was an unusually nice day, not a cloud in the sky, it was pretty hot too. There was a slight breeze that caught her hair, carrying the smell of her lavender shampoo across her nose. _Beautiful day_, she thought with a smile.

At that moment the bus was approaching her stop, she boarded the bus, paid and took her seat. She decided to let Phoebe know that she was now on the bus and headed in that direction.

"On the bus now, should be there in 10." She text.

"Great! Almost everyone is here. See you soon." Phoebe replied quickly.

_Man she replies quick_, Helga thought as she sat on the bus staring out the window. It took about half the bus trip to finally realize what Phoebe had said. _"Almost everyone is here." _A look of horror crept across her face at those words. _Damnit, I'm so stupid. POOL PARTY. Duh, of course there was going to be people there._ She thought as she slapped herself in the forehead. Once again that nervous feeling found its way back to her.

_Well it's too late to turn back now_, she thought. When the bus came to her stop she exited, took a quick look around, and started the block and a half walk to Phoebe's house. As she got closer she could hear the music playing and chatter from several people coming from the back yard.

"Well let's get this over with." Helga said under her breath. With a sigh she started walking to the front door. Looking down the whole time counting the cracks in the sidewalk, she was totally oblivious of her surrounding for a split second. Then BAM! Her butt hit the ground pretty hard making her fling a curse word or two in the air.

"Holy…..man are you ok?" Helga asked, still sitting on the ground. She still had yet to see who she ran into.

She heard a chuckle followed by, "Yeah I think so, but maybe I should be asking you that." It was a guy, she couldn't help but notice just how smooth his voice flowed. Now she was really embarrassed, a flush of pink hit her cheeks. At this she just had to see who this gorgeous voice belonged to, she looked up slowly to meet a pair of blue eyes. Probably the most beautiful blue eyes she had ever seen, there was a hint of gold in them making them striking. At this point Helga could feel her face burning, he was gorgeous!

"Are you ok?" He chuckled as he lowered his hand to her, "I think you got the worst of it."

She melted at the sound of his voice, damn where did he come from? "Umm…ye-yeah, I'm good." She finally managed to choke out. Noticing his gesture she grabbed his hand, he pulled her up not breaking eye contact. Helga could see he was built well, his arms flexed a bit as he pulled her to a standing position.

"Cool. I'm Chance." He said, a little smirk making its way across his lips, "you here for the party too?"

Helga finally regained herself, "I'm Helga, and yeah I guess I'm here for the party too."

"You guess?" Chance asked, a little confusion showing on his face.

"Well, ok yeah I'm here for Phoebe's party, I guess what I mean is that I am actually surprised I came."

"Oh? And why is that?" He asked, his head slightly cocked to the side.

"Parties really aren't my thing." She responded, trying her best to keep her cool.

"Oh come on, other than your recent crash and burn, this will be fun." Chance said with a smile. He grabbed her hand again, which made her face go bright red, and practically dragged her up to the front door. At this point Helga was still trying to grasp what had just happened, _why is this amazingly handsome guy talking to me? _She thought. This guy, she did not recognize him as anyone that hung around with Phoebe or Gerald before she left, so maybe he came after?

He had dark brown hair, it fell to his ears but cut in several layers, his facial features were damn near perfect. His eyes weren't too close together, his nose wasn't too big, and his lips were for lack of a better word, perfect. His face shape overall was, well damn near perfect, he was about a foot taller than her too. _Jeeze did this guy have any flaws?_ she thought to herself.

He rang the doorbell, and looked down at her with a smile, then back at the door. At this point she noticed that he had yet to let her hand go, _shit_, she could feel her face burning, and it wasn't from the heat.

**I hope that was a little better, I promise it will be getting more interesting. Depending on reviews I might make some changes. **


	3. Chapter 3 familiar strangers

**Well I wanted to get this last chapter in for the day. Lots of views, but not many comments on the previous chapters. Still thanks to everyone that took the time to read them. From here on out the chapter will be longer than the first two to keep the number down a bit. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold!**

The sound of the doorbell was followed by quick but soft footsteps, the door opened to Phoebe's mom. Her looks hadn't changed much, she stood at the door with a smile.

"Oh hi Chance." She said.

"Hi Mrs. Heyerdahl." Chance responded.

"Everyone is out back," She gestured to the back of the house, "Oh I see you brought a friend."

Helga looked a little confused, did she really look that different? "Um Mrs. Heyerdahl? It's me Helga, Helga Pataki."

A look of total shock mixed with confusion spread across Phoebe's mom's face. "Oh, Helga…I am so sorry I didn't recognize you. You look so different" Phoebe's mom walked towards Helga giving her a friendly hug. "Come on inside you two. Helga, Phoebe is upstairs." She said pointing in the direction of Phoebe's room.

"Ok thank you, guess I should go see her then." Helga replied. By this time Chance had finally let go of her hand and waved as he walked towards the back door. "See you outside." He said as he turned around.

"Yeah see you out there." Helga said as she headed towards her friends bedroom. Helga still couldn't quite wrap her thoughts around what had just happened, but that was quickly stripped from her mind. She opened the door to Phoebe's bedroom and was met with a tight, vice grip like hug. "Helga!" She heard Phoebe squeal. She gasped for air when she was finally released. Dang this girl was strong she laughed to herself.

She noticed Phoebe was already in her swimsuit, it was blue with little white dots. Phoebe was totally adorable, she was still about a foot shorter than Helga, with a petite frame. She was still sporting her blue framed glasses, some things will never change. Her attention was quickly drawn to what was laying on the bed. "What the hell is that?" She asked, pointing over to the bed, a little horrified.

Phoebe let out a chuckle, "Well my friend that is a swimsuit. You said yours was still packed up so there you go." She looked at Helga and winked.

"Ooooh no," Helga protested, "I don't do two pieces."

The stern look on Helga's face certainly didn't seem to phase Phoebe. "Oh come on Helga, look at you, you will look great," Phoebe argued, "just give it a try."

"You did this on purpose." Helga grumbled, which in turn made Phoebe giggle devilishly. "Of course not." She smiled as she walked out of the room so Helga could get changed into the two piece horror. Helga stared for a moment at the swimsuit, it wasn't ugly or anything just, really a two piece? Well hopefully like her friend's mom, no one would know who she was. She changed into the swimsuit and stood in front of the full length mirror hanging on the back of Phoebe's bedroom door. The swimsuit was pink with a little beading on the top. _ Damn_, she thought, _maybe she was right I look awesome!_ She tied her hair back into a ponytail letting a few stray hairs fall freely finishing her look.

Phoebe was waiting outside the room, Helga walked out in the swimsuit, making Phoebe grin a bit and then focusing on a shiny pink gem on Helga's lower abdomen. "You got your belly button pierced?!" Phoebe squealed pointing. "Oh come on I still got a little rebel in me." Helga said with a smile nudging Phoebe with her elbow. "As if you weren't already eye catching." Phoebe gave her a quick wink, Helga just gave a, let's be serious, look and the two walked downstairs and to the back door. Helga hesitated for a moment, looking down at her swimsuit again, _not much left to the imagination_, she thought. She did have to give it to Pheebs though, she knew what she was talking about. The two walked outside to join the rest.

Helga took a look around at the different faces, some she recognized due to the minimal change, but others she could barely put a finger on. She would have Phoebe fill her in on who was who once they found a seat. The two walked over to where Gerald was sitting, he smiled up at the sight of Phoebe planting a quick kiss on her cheek. He then looked over at Helga and gave her a confused look, _did he not recognize me either? _He didn't say anything just turned his attention back to the radio, he was in charge of the music it seemed.

Helga took a seat next to Phoebe, looking around at all the people she noticed with the few that she could recognize. There was Harold, not much had changed about him, still the biggest of the bunch but he had toned up a bit. He was there with big Patty, no real surprise there. She then noticed Stinky, he still towered over most of everyone, but it looks like he had finally grown into that nose. She laughed a little to herself which caught Phoebe's attention.

"So do you recognize anyone yet?" Phoebe asked.

"Yeah a few, but the rest I'm not so sure of." She replied.

"Let's see, the girl over by the juice bar is Rhonda, followed by Nadine as usual. Umm the curly headed guy is Eugene with Sheena and Sid is standing over by Stinky. There is Brainy, Lorenzo, Pea Pod kid, and Chance." Phoebe called off.

The biggest change she saw was, believe it or not, Brainy. He still had those glasses, but he was far from looking like the creepy stalker nerd that use to show up during her confessions of love for Arnold. To her surprise she actually found him quite attractive. Helga couldn't help but notice just how much everyone had changed in just two short years. She was a little disappointed when she did not hear Phoebe say Arnold's name. In a way she was relieved, but a small part of her was hoping that he was there. Oh well. She turned her attention to Phoebe who was staring at her, a look of concern on her face.

"You ok?" Phoebe asked.

"Yeah I'm good," Helga said, quickly changing the subject, "hey who is that guy over there?" She said pointing to Chance.

"Oh that's Chance. He moved here about a month or so after you left." Phoebe responded. "He is a really cool guy, he hangs out with Gerald and Arnold a lot." Phoebe paused realizing what she had just said.

Helga kind of ignored her reaction, "Yeah I met him on the way here, well actually I kind of walked into him." She said as she rubbed her sore bottom. Phoebe's eyes lit up for a second, "Well you know, he is single." Helga was caught off guard by this a little and looked at Phoebe.

"Oh no, don't you go trying to hook me up with him my first day back." Helga quickly said, giving Phoebe a stern look.

Phoebe had a little devilish grin spread across her face, "Hey Chance!" Phoebe called out waving her hand. Helga could just stare in horror. _What the hell was she doing?_

"Hey Phoebe!" Chance called back, "What's up?" He walked over in their direction, holding a cup, and this time less one shirt. _Damn!_ Helga couldn't keep her eyes off him as he made his way towards where they were sitting. At this point Gerald had noticed him walking over too and stood up to give him a quick high five.

He looked down at Helga, "Well hello again." Helga just gave him a little wave. "Well at least this time we aren't trying to play demolition derby." He laughed. Helga kind of laughed, still a little embarrassed about what had happened earlier.

"Hey man take a seat." Gerald motioned to him. Chance pulled up a chair and sat down at the table with them. "So what you been up to?" Gerald asked Chance.

"Same ole same ole." Chance laughed, "Just trying to not run head first into pretty girls." He looked at Helga and winked. This of course made her cheeks burn more than she thought possible. _Is there a point today that I won't be embarrassed beyond recovery?_

The four of them sat there making small talk, well mostly the guys, Phoebe and Helga just kind of sat listening. Their conversation broken when they heard Harold yell, "Whooohooo! Cannon Ball!" as he ran and jumped off the diving board, hitting the water with enough force to cover all of them with water. Chance jumped up from the table with Gerald, both had grins of their faces. They ran towards the pool both diving in unison, and grabbing Harold. And so it begins, Helga and Phoebe sat at the table laughing hysterically, along with everyone else that was there to witness the mayhem. _Some things never change_, she thought.

Right about the midst of the commotion her attention was redirected to the backdoor hearing it slam shut. Out walked a tall, blonde headed guy wearing a red polo, and red and blue plaid swim trunks. Upon seeing the commotion he quickly took his shirt and shoes off and joined in. Helga didn't get a good look at who he was, but she was sure she would soon find out.

It wasn't until Rhonda got totally drenched that all the guys stopped, well only to laugh at her reaction and continue on with their shenanigans. Helga focused her attention on the newest arrival, he was toned very nicely, and his skin was a shade darker than her sun-kissed skin. She couldn't help but to think how familiar, yet unfamiliar he was. She couldn't quite put her finger on it but something told her that she knew him.

It wasn't until the music started to suffer that Gerald called it quits and got back to DJ duties, laying a sweet kiss on Phoebe's forehead as he passed by. Following Gerald was Chance and the blonde-headed guy, seeing them both soaking wet made her heart skip a beat. _These guys_, she thought to herself biting her lip, _they know they are freaking gorgeous. _This time Chance sat across from her closer to Gerald and the blonde took the chair next to her.

"So did you ladies enjoy the show?" Chance said with a hint of laughter.

"I've seen better." Helga shot back with a smirk. This made him laugh, "Oh yeah? You think you can do better?"

"Duh." She said sitting back crossing her arms. Phoebe shot her a look of total mischief and grinned.

"Prove it." Chance said leaning forward giving her a raised brow and sly smirk.

"Ok, ok you two." Gerald said chuckling, "what do you guys say we put on some tunes to move to?"

By this time Helga's playful banter had caught the attention of the blonde haired guy sitting next to her. She could feel his eyes on her, but she kept her attention on Gerald as he fumbled through his playlist finally landing on what he was looking for. Gerald put on an oldie but goodie, and the three of them got up leaving Helga and the blonde haired guy at the table.

"You not coming?" Chance asked.

"Sorry to disappoint you," She said with a smirk, "but I don't dance. At least not in public."

"Well we will have to fix that huh?" he said, "I bet I can get you to dance before the end of the party."

"Bet." Helga responded, sealing the deal with a handshake.

As she sat there in silence she pulled out her phone and text her mother, making sure Bob hadn't annihilated anyone yet. Her attention was completely on her conversation with her mother when a sultry sounding voice broke the silence. "Hey" her head snapped in the direction of the voice, it was the blonde haired guy, she totally forgot about him sitting there.

"Oh, um...hi." She responded quickly, looking up from her phone to catch his amazing green eyes looking into hers. _So familiar_, she thought, then it hit her like a ton of bricks, almost taking her breathe away in the process. She knew those eyes, oh how she knew them, no doubt about it…it was Arnold!

**Verdict?**


	4. Chapter 4 Cats out of the bag

**Continuing on, it may take a bit after this chapter before I submit another but there will be more. I cannot leave a story unfinished. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold!**

Those butterflies she had before didn't have shit on the ones she had now. She could feel a rush of emotions coming over her, praying that they wouldn't surface on her face. She did her absolute best to remain cool, calm, and collected. She took a deep mental sigh as she prepared herself for whatever was to follow.

She quickly looked back down at her phone again, hoping for a message of some type to give her a reason to be so distracted. To keep eye contact to a minimum, for as long as she deemed necessary. To no surprise, nothing, she was left staring at her phone like an idiot. All she could hope for was that he did not recognize her, Phoebe had yet to actually say her name in the presents of anyone. Maybe she was still good then, perhaps her true identity was still hidden.

"So you know Chance?" he asked, trying to form some kind of conversation to break the awkward silence.

The sound of his voice made her melt instantly, all the feelings she had suppressed for so long came flooding back with a single word spoken. Now being forced to at least acknowledge his present to avoid being rude, she shifted her gaze over to him. His features had change, his head was not so "football shaped" as before. Taking on a few sharper facial features, filling out his face so nicely. He was even more gorgeous than she remembered, but those green eyes never changed.

"Um, yeah. Well kind of. I just met him today on my way here." She responded, looking back at her phone. "Actually, I guess you can say we 'ran' into one another." She chuckled a bit.

"Do tell." He said. Noting the curiosity that had befallen his expression she decided to give him what he wanted.

"Well I was walking to the front door not paying attention, which is something I seem to do a lot, and out of nowhere I ran into him….literally. Hit pretty hard too, my butt is still feeling gravity's cruelty." She said, now kind of thinking how funny it had been.

He chuckled a bit and said, "Well that'll teach ya." She gave him a little smirk and raised a brow at his comment.

"Well you better watch out, you could be next. You just never know when I might not be paying attention." She said, enjoying their little conversation, all that it was.

He smirked at her playful comment, "So you really don't dance?" he asked, breaking the silence once more.

"Absolutely not, unless it's in my living room with the shades closed as tight as they can." She said, looking over at the others and then burst out laughing at the sight. There in front of nature and everyone was Stinky, totally doing his best to break it down without breaking it. It looked something like a mix of the electric slide while getting electrocuted. She laughed so hard tears started to roll down her cheeks. By this time Arnold had followed her line of sight and spotted what she had found so funny. At this sight he too started laughing hysterically.

After a few minutes the song changed kind of forcing Stinky to stop totally embarrassing himself. Giving Helga and Arnold both a chance to catch their breath and wipe the tears from their faces. At this point Helga was glad that she had come to the party, she hadn't laughed like that in so long.

"You know you are going to lose right?" Arnold's voice broke her attention from the others.

She looked over at him with a puzzled look on her face, he just stared at her with a smirk. As if he couldn't look anymore freaking cute he makes that face. She quickly snapped herself out of his hypnotic stare.

"Lose what?" she finally responded.

"The bet with Chance, he is a serious ladies man. You are going to lose." He said again.

"HA," Helga shot back, "and what makes you so sure? Just because he is a 'ladies' man', pa-lease." She rolled her eyes and chuckled a bit. "You obviously don't know me very well, Arnold." He shot a look of confusion and shock at her response for a half a second. _What the...did I say something wrong? _she thought to herself noticing his reaction.

"We will see." He said as he turned to face the others. He then turned his attention back to her, "And you are right."

"Right about what?" she said, her attention now focused on her phone again.

"I obviously don't know you very well, and I don't think I ever caught your name." He said looking at her, "Mind if I ask?"

She felt chills run down her spine at that question, she didn't want to tell him that she was, Helga Pataki, his childhood bully. She didn't want him to look at her different because of their past. She was having such a good time she had completely forgotten about not telling him who she was. _Dang it._

Without looking up she weakly responded, "Ask what?" she damn well knew_ what_, but she was doing her best to avoid the question.

"Your name?" he asked again, "I think it's only fair since somehow you know mine."

She looked over at him, his curiosity was definitely showing. _Crap I said his name? I didn't even_ realize...when_ did I say it? Oh man I am so busted now_, she thought. She swallowed the lump in her throat, trying to come up with a quick way to dodge his question, but she had nothing. Might as well just get it over with and let him know who he was really talking to.

"Well umm….my name…is," before she had the opportunity to finish she heard a voice call from across the yard. "Hey Helga!" Her head shot up in surprise, it was Chance. She shot a quick glance over at Arnold, his expression said it all. He was so confused, she could hear him mumble "Helga?" in a questioning way. He looked over at her, still confused, all she could say at this point was, "Hi." Giving him a shy smile and a little wave of her hand.

"Helga? Helga Pataki?!" he said, still looking as confused as a person could.

Helga stood up from her chair giving him a quick smile before heading over to where the others were standing. Some of their expressions were about as confused as Arnolds, no one had actually paid attention to her when she walked out earlier. Which in a way she kind of wished it would go back to that, but the cat was out of the bag now. There were no shadows to hide in on this bright sunny day, she was busted!

"Holy crap, Helga! You're back?" Harold said, his voice muffled by the hotdog he had just stuffed in his mouth. Spitting and sputtering on whoever stood near him, earning him a scoff from Rhonda.

"Wait, when did you get back?" Rhonda asked, now a safe distance from Harold.

"Are you sure you are Helga?" asked Sid from the back.

"Wait Helga? As in Helga G. Pataki? Why I'll be darn." Stinky said with his draw as thick as ever.

"Criminy, what is this an interrogation?" Helga said throwing her hands in the air, "Look I will answer questions in due time, but for now I just want to hang out and have fun. Is that ok?"

That must have done the trick, with that everyone went back to doing what they were doing, a few coming up to talk to Helga. By this time Arnold had made his way over to where everyone was standing, making a B line for Helga. She looked up as she noticed him approaching her, the look on his face could have melted diamonds.

"It really took you hearing my name to figure out who I was?" Helga said, smiling slightly looking up at the incredible blue sky, "Still as dense as ever."

Arnold just stood there shaking his head for a moment, probably still trying to get a grip on this. With that he motioned for her to follow him, which she hesitated at first, but followed. They both went back to the table they were sitting at previously.

"So you weren't going to tell me that you were Helga?" he asked, a little confusion and frustration in his voice, "What did you think I was going to do?"

"Well to be honest I figured that if you knew who I was you would stop talking to me." She said back shyly, trying to not make eye contact, "You really didn't know who I was?"

"Well I thought you looked kind of familiar, but I wasn't really sure." Arnold said, not looking away from her.

"To be honest I didn't know who you were at first." She said as she looked away.

"Well how did you figure it was me?" his question demanding an answer.

"Your eyes," she said, "your eyes are still the same."

She could see a faint pink hue starting to form across his face. They sat in silence for what felt like an eternity.

"Are you mad?" she finally asked.

She heard him take in a deep breath and let it go slowly, "No," he replied, "but it would have been good to know who I was talking to. I kind of feel bad for not recognizing you, but then again I wasn't the only one. You have changed so much so really who could have known?"

"I didn't realize just how much I _had_ changed. Sorry, I'll try to keep from doing that again." She said, hearing him chuckle at her response.

"Well, now that, that is out of the way, how are you Ms. Helga Pataki?" he said, a smile forming as he waited for her response.

Before she had time to answer she felt someone grab her hand, pulling her towards the others across the yard. She could hear Arnold laughing behind her as he said, "I told you, you were going to lose!" She shot him a quick smirk as she noticed it was Chance who had her hand.

"Oh well let's get this embarrassment over with." She said, as Gerald put on an upbeat tune.

After a few songs, and a lot of embarrassment later Helga was able to sit again. Everyone was starting to wind down a little, some had started making their way out. It wasn't super late, but some had other plans later in the day. Rhonda and Nadine were the first to leave, shopping was always the excuse, but no one really made an argument for them to stay.

It was still pretty warm, so Phoebe and Helga decided to go for a dip in the pool. A few of the others were already in enjoying the cool water, Helga and Phoebe walked over, both dipping a toe in first. It was pretty cold so the best way to get in was to just go for it, but before either one had time to Helga suddenly felt arms sweep her up. Next thing she knew she was in the pool, trying to catch the breath that the cold water took away.

She heard Phoebe laughing from the pool side, _what the hell just happened?_ She wiped her eyes, and tried to focus cause someone was about to get it. It didn't take long for her to figure out who the culprit was, Arnold. By this time he had swam to the other end of the pool, with the biggest shit eating grin on his face, like he had just won a contest or something.

"Well that is payback!" he said voice cracking as he laughed at the sight of Helga being totally waterlogged. He pulled himself out of the pool before she had the chance to get to him. _Well at least I'm cooled off now_, she thought. She swam over to the ladder to climb out of the pool, just before hearing another loud splash. She turned around laughing immediately upon noticing what caused it, Gerald had gotten Phoebe.

Helga walked over to the table where she, Phoebe, Gerald, Chance, and Arnold had been sitting. Arnold was waiting with a towel, still sporting the grin. She couldn't help but to ask him, curiosity had gotten the better of her.

"So _payback_ huh? For what exactly?" She waited for his answer.

"Well, that would be for failing to tell me who you were, making feel like a total idiot." He said smiling.

Helga nodded her head, "Fair enough." Sitting down next to him, Arnold leaned over and whispered something in her ear that made her blush. _So much for the cooling effects of the pool_. She thought.

Like always, and something she came to know very well, all good things must come to an end. Phoebe had asked Helga to stay over for the night, and knowing that nothing would be set up in her room she accepted. By 7 P.M. the pool party was over and everyone had gone their separate ways. Helga said her goodbyes to everyone as they walked out, getting numbers from a few to hang out again.

Dinner was devoured to say the least, showers were taken, and now the two girls sat in Phoebe's bedroom catching up on events. A question rolled around in Helga's head thinking about everyone at the party, _where was Lila? Isn't she dating Arnold?_ At this point Helga couldn't contain her curiosity, "Sooo….I noticed that Lila wasn't here with Arnold."

Phoebe looked up from the message she had been in the process of writing to Gerald, "Yeah. They broke up about a month or so ago. Lila is dating some guy she met out of town." This news definitely didn't fall onto deaf ears, Helga perked up a bit at this new found information. Even with her feelings being more mellowed out, she still really liked Arnold. Maybe this was her chance.

**Feedback? How does everyone think it is going so far, reviews? Also, does anyone thing I should revise chapter 1. Thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter 5 Conflicting Feelings

**My mind went totally blank...I am sorry to the readers waiting for an update. I know what direction I want to go in I just needed to figure out how to get it going. Well here is chapter 5!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold!**

It had been two weeks or so after the pool party since anyone had really seen one another. Some were busy doing summer jobs forced on them by their parents, _it will make you more responsible and respect money more_, they would be told. Honestly what high school student wants to spend their whole summer _WORKING_?

Helga sat in her now fully furnished bedroom, it was around 2 in the afternoon, waiting on Phoebe to text her that she was off work. Helga and Phoebe hung out together pretty much every day since the party, occasionally coming over to help Helga decorate her room, and just make small talk. Phoebe had gotten a part time job at the library, which she loved. Helga was about to make her way downstairs when right on schedule, her phone went off, it was Phoebe.

"Hey. Want to meet at the ice cream shop around 3?" Phoebe had text. Helga wasn't about to pass up an opportunity to get out of her house. Miriam was in the kitchen making one of her "signature smoothies", Bob was in the office in the back of the house yelling on the phone. Business was going well but it wasn't without its hiccups.

"See you there." Helga text back as quickly as her fingers would allow. She decided to leave a little early, and take a detour through the park to get a little fresh air. "I'm going out! Don't wait up for me!" She yelled as she walked towards the door. Followed by an "Ok Helga have fun" from Miriam who had walked over to the kitchen door, blender in hand. Helga walked outside, it was especially hot today, she was glad she chose the attire that she had. A pair of black work out shorts with a thick dark pink stripe down the side with a lighter pink stripe right next to it, not too short of course, she had planned on doing a little jogging before heading over to meet with Phoebe. She wore a black tank top with a small pink bag over her shoulders carrying a few of her belongings. She had pulled her hair up in a high ponytail to get as much off of her neck as possible.

She grabbed her headphones and made her way over to the park, listening to her favorite playlist labeled 'workout'. She noticed a few small children playing around a fire hydrant that was pouring water out onto the hot street, laughing and running through the cold water. _Those were the good days_, she thought with a smile. She continued walking down the side walk, softly humming as she approached the park. She grabbed her bag searching for her band to hold her phone on her arm while she did her jogging, walking at a little slower pace as her focus was now on finding that band.

It didn't take long for her lack attention to get the best of her as she collided with someone, once again landing right on her bottom. _Come on Helga! Again! Really?_ She thought to herself as she winced at the pain she was now feeling in her rear. "Oh I am sooo sorry, I wasn't…..wait, Helga?" a voice rang in her ears. She paused, she knew this voice….she looked up and there stood Arnold. He was wearing a blue short sleeved T-shirt with a pair of dark tan cargo shorts, and of course it just wouldn't be Arnold without his favorite blue hat.

His apologetic green eyes meeting her blue eyes, time seeming to stand still for a moment before she realized where she was again. By this time she had noticed that he had extended his hand to help her back to her feet. She took his hand, dusting herself off once she was back on her feet. "Dang I just can't seem to stop running into people nowadays," she said.

"Well, technically you did warn me," Arnold chuckled as he handed her the pink bag she had dropped. Helga looked at him raising a brow a little confused at his statement.

"I did? How?" she asked, taking her bag from him and pulling the straps over her shoulders.

"Well remember the pool party? You warned me about your spacing out, and how I could possibly be next." He replied with a smirk on his face, a smirk that made Helga's heart race a bit.

She tried her best to play it cool, clearing her throat, "Yeah well that is what you get for not listening…._football head_."

This made him laugh a little, "I haven't heard that in forever."

She tried her best to play it off but that smile of his was getting the best of her. _How could such a simple thing as a look from him get me so flustered? _She found her mind running crazy, trying her best to form words into a sentence with no luck.

"Guess I just have a hard time paying attention when pretty girls are talking to me," he said as he turned and made his way into the park, his hands now tucked into his shorts pockets. Of course not before looking at Helga over his shoulder letting his lips curl up into a smile, a smile that made her weak in the knees. _What? Did he just call me 'pretty'? My mind must be playing tricks on me. _Helga's head was about ready to explode with the amount of thoughts she had running through it.

She tried to shake the thoughts from her head, now trying to focus her attention back on what she was previously doing. She found the arm band, set her phone up and began her jog through the park. Even with the lyrics of the song clearly playing in her head, the thoughts of her run in with Arnold seemed to be louder. At that moment the music she was listening to stopped playing, she stopped and grabbed her phone to see what was wrong.

As she focused on her phone she noticed a text message from an unknown number, _who in the world? _She read the message to herself, "Hey!"

"Who the heck is this?" She said aloud, as if to receive an answer…which is exactly what happened. "Me," a deep raspy voice echoed from behind her. Right about that time she heard footsteps approaching her, at this point she didn't know what to do.

"I was hoping that would get you to stop for a second." A different voice said. Helga spun around to see Chance standing by a tree.

"What the hell that was you?!" she tried to yell. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

"Actually I wanted to give you this." He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to Helga. Helga couldn't help but give him the most evil glare she could conjure at that moment.

She crossed her arms, "No…"

"Oh come on Helga, please? Look I am sorry for messing with you back there." Chance said, really looking guilty at this point, not to mention charming on top of that as he held the paper out for her to take. She took a deep breath and letting it out slowly, trying to slow her racing heart.

"You know I am only going to take this because it has been a long time since someone bested me like that," she said snatching the paper from his hands. She stood there reading what was on the paper, _Roof Top Party, Sunset Arms, 5:30 pm sharp!_

"So when did you take up jogging?" Chance asked, breaking her concentration.

"Hm? Oh…um when I was in the boarding school my parents sent me to. It was a way for me to relieve stress."

"Oh? Does it work?" he asked.

"Well it works better when there aren't creepers stalking behind trees waiting to scare the crap out of people." She shot back, giving him a glare.

"Yeah I don't know why I thought that was a good idea." He said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry."

"Well you gonna go or not?" Chance asked.

Helga's attention went to the piece of paper she was holding. It was going to be at the boarding house Arnold lived in, of course she wanted to go. "I'll think about it." She finally responded.

"Ok…hope to see you there." Chance said, giving her a wink just before turning around and walking off in the opposite direction.

Her attention went back to the piece of paper she was still holding, she took a deep breath before folding it up and placing it into her bag. She turned her music back on and took off to try and finish her peaceful run, hopefully there would be no more surprises.

It was now 3 and Helga was walking up to the ice cream shop, she had pulled the invite back out and was studying it. _Should I go? I mean we have communicated through text messages the last week or so. Why do I have to have these feelings? I am so confused._ She thought to herself.

She opened the doors to the shop, looking at each booth until she spotted her friend. Phoebe sat at a far corner booth, her nose buried in a book, no doubt one she had gotten from the library she worked at. Helga walked over to say hi to her friend, hoping her friend's company would help get her thoughts in order. She was always good at giving Helga advice, whether Helga chose to listen or not was another story.

"Hey Pheebs," Helga greeted her with a smile.

"Oh…hi Helga. How are you?" Phoebe said a little caught off guard, she must have been really into her book.

Helga sat down across from Phoebe laying the invite on the table sliding it in her friend's direction, "So do you know anything about this?"

"Hmm…," Phoebe sat forward, adjusting her glasses to read the paper's contents, "Oh yeah I got one too. Gerald came by the library today and gave me one. When did you get yours?"

"I went for a run in the park before coming here, I got a text from Chance just before he scared the hell out of me." She said, "He gave me this invite."

"Oh." Phoebe replied.

Helga thought about it for a moment, "Hey Pheebs, do you have any idea how he got my number? I don't remember giving him my number at your party."

Phoebe tried to hide herself behind her book, this catching Helga's attention. She reached across the table placing her hand on top of the book lowering it so you could see her friend's face, "Phoebe?"

"Ok, ok, I did…I'm sorry I didn't tell you Helga." Phoebe apologized.

"Well, you didn't exactly know he would use if for evil." Helga replied, laughing a little. "I guess its ok."

Phoebe let out a low sigh and then smiled. The girls ordered their frozen treats while exchanging conversation for a while.

That evening back at her house, Helga walked into her room tossing her bag on her bed. She took a quick look around, she really did love her new room. She walked over to her dresser taking out a pair of pjs and headed into her bathroom to shower. The day had been quite eventful so she took her time in the hot shower, letting the water run over her face. The thoughts of the party on Saturday buzzed in her head like an angry swarm, she still wasn't sure if she was going to go. She let out a long sigh before turning off the shower and grabbing her towel.

She walked out of the bathroom just in time to see her phone light up. She walked over to the bed where it laid and saw that she had a text message….from Arnold. Her eyes light up as she saw the name, _wonder what he wants_, she thought as she opened the message.

"Hey, its _Football Head…_you got a minute to talk?" she read laughing a little at his comment. She replied back, "Yeah. What's up?"

"So I heard you got the invite to my party on Saturday. You are coming right?" he text back.

"Sure. I mean I don't think I have any plans that day so I don't see why not." She replied.

"Ok." He replied, "Oh and one more thing, I didn't properly apologize for running into you earlier today."

"It's cool. I managed to walk away with minimal injuries." Helga text.

"Good I was a little worried you might have gotten hurt." there was a minute before she received another text, "Are you bringing anyone with you?"

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Like…a guy." He responded.

"No I wasn't planning on it." She said.

"Good." He replied back.

Helga couldn't help but turn a little red at that last message. _What did he mean by GOOD?...Saturday is going to be interesting none the least. _ She thought to herself as she lay in her bed slowing drifting off to sleep…she was yanked from her light slumber at the sound of her phone once more. _Who was is now?_

It was Chance, she made sure to save his number after the incident earlier that day. "What does he want?" She asked herself.

"Hey got a minute?" his text read.

"Sure." She replied.

"I wanted to ask you out to Arnold's party Saturday." he asked.

Helga held her breath without realizing it, of course this would happen, and right after Arnold had asked if she was bringing anyone. _Now what do I do? It's not like I have an excuse as to why I can't go with him. I mean what are the chances Arnold would ask me out at his party? I could either say yes and lose any chance of Arnold possibly asking, or say no and risk losing the option to be with either one. Oh man I'm so confused. What do I say?_

_Well either way he is going to need an answer_, she picked up her phone and started texting…..

**Reviews please, let me know what you think and if I need to think about changes. Thank you! **


	6. Chapter 6 So close

**Ok so here is were things are going to start getting interesting, there might be some unexpected drama to follow. The sections that is divided by the series of periods is kind of Arnold's POV. I had to make it interesting, and it is only going to get better...drama drama ;)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold!**

...

It had been a slow day in Hillwood, not much going on because of the heat. Arnold walked up to his bedroom after spending a few hours at the park hanging out with Gerald, Chance, Harold, Stinky, and Sid. Not much going on but planning for the party on Saturday; Gerald had DJ duty again, and the rest working out plans for set up, and getting invites out. Arnold kicked off his shoes and dropped himself down on the bed, letting out a long sigh. He lay there staring out the sky light over his bed, thinking about the events of the day….but mostly about seeing a certain person.

He couldn't stop thinking about Helga since the pool party, how much she had changed, and how she just seemed to make him feel a certain way. A way that he didn't think possible, he only seemed to get these kinds of feelings with girls he liked. So does that mean he _liked_ Helga? His thoughts interrupted by the sound of his door opening.

"Hey Shortman!" it was his grandpa Phil. Arnold looked over at his grandpa who was standing at his door, one hand on his hip the other on the door.

"Oh, hi grandpa." He said now sitting up on his bed putting his legs over the side so his feet could touch the floor.

"I know you got that party on Saturday. Do you need grandma to eradicate the vermin housing on the roof?" Phil asked, making Arnold raise an eyebrow.

"Um, sure?" he replied, sitting forward placing his elbows on his knees. "Grandpa, can I ask you something?"

"Why sure Arnold, what's on your mind?" his grandpa replied taking a seat next to him on the bed.

"Well, it's this girl. She use to live around here a few years ago, but moved away. I never really thought too much about her except wondered why she bullied me so much." He started. "Now she is back, and I can't seem to get my mind off of her. She is so different, good different. What do I do?"

"Well Shortman," Phil started letting out a low chuckle as he placed a hand on Arnold's shoulder, "it sounds to me like you have_ feelings_ for said girl. I use to have the same problem you have, I was getting bullied by this young girl….ooooooh she was mean! All day long, and I could never figure out what to do. But, I ended up finding out there was more to her than her bullying and decided to do something about it. I'm sure you remember the rest of the story." He ended with a smile, just as his grandma popped her head in the room carrying a basket of laundry.

Arnold looked at his grandpa and smiled, "I know grandpa, and thanks."

"No problem. Now you get some sleep got a big day tomorrow." He said as he walked out the door, closing it behind him.

Arnold lay back down on his bed, his mind not seeming to slow with the thoughts of her. He had been thinking about her more since their run in that day and decided to be a gentleman, and check in on her.

"Hey, its _Football Head…_you got a minute to talk?" he text, thinking maybe she would get a little laugh out of it.

"Yeah. What's up?" She replied back.

"So I heard you got the invite to my party on Saturday. You are coming right?" he text back, waiting to get the answer he was hoping for.

"Sure. I mean I don't think I have any plans that day so I don't see why not." She replied.

This made him smile, letting out a little sigh. "Ok." He replied, "Oh and one more thing, I didn't properly apologize for running into you earlier today."

"It's cool. I managed to walk away with minimal injuries." Helga text.

"Good I was a little worried you might have gotten hurt." He replied, but there was one more thing he wanted to ask. Summoning up the courage he text her again, "Are you bringing anyone with you?"

"What do you mean?" she asked.

It was a little embarrassing asking this, but he wanted to know. Trying to figure out how to respond he finally asked, "Like…a guy." The seconds it took her to reply back seemed to beat down on him, until his phone finally buzzed. A little nervous at the thought of the possible answer that would appear across his phone's screen, he took a second and then opened the message.

"No I wasn't planning on it." She said.

He let out a deep sigh of relief, "Good." He replied back. He sat there and thought for a minute, _am I really about to do this? What has come over me? _He kept thinking to himself, wondering if these feelings he had were real. He never in a million years thought he could have feelings for Helga, but as he sat there thinking about her he couldn't help but smile. He took his phone, opened the messenger, and began his text.

"I wanted to know if you would let me pick you up Saturday and come to the party together…..as in a date?" He sat there, reading his text message over and over wondering if there was any other way to ask this question. He took one last deep breath, moving his thumb over to the send button, before he could press it his phone went dark…...it died.

...

It was Saturday, Helga and Phoebe were out trying to find something to wear for the party. While looking through the shirts in the far back section of ladies wear, Helga kept thinking about the text she had gotten from Chance. She decided to let him know she would think about it for a day or so. On the other hand, she was glad that he didn't push the matter. The fact that he didn't smother her, or continue to try and pry an answer out of her made her think, maybe she should say yes. He seemed like a nice enough guy, he was funny, and good looking. _Who wouldn't say yes to that?_ She thought to herself.

"Hey Phoebe?" Helga began, "Can I ask you something?" she continued to look through the shirts as she waited for her friends answer.

"Of course Helga, what's up?" Phoebe replied back, holding out a shirt she had pulled from the rack.

"So, I got a text the other night from Chance. He asked if he could take me out to the party tonight. I am honestly not too sure what to say. Should I go with him? You know him better than I do." She asked, finding a shirt that caught her eye and holding it up to herself in the mirror.

"He did?!" Phoebe said in a high pitched squeal, "Oh Helga that is great! He really is a cool guy, I have never seen him do anything questionable." Phoebe looked over at Helga, who had a slight look of disappointment. "Did _he_ ask you too?" she finally asked Helga, making her look up.

"Who?" Helga asked, a little stumped at Phoebe's question.

"Arnold. Did he?" Phoebe finally asked, looking at Helga's expression. "Helga, it's no secret to me that he is the one you were hoping would ask you."

Helga couldn't help but blush a little at Phoebe's comment, she was right though. Helga did want Arnold to be the one to ask her if anyone did. She sighed deeply as she put the shirt she had been looking at back on the rack, then looking over in Phoebe's direction.

"No he didn't ask me." she finally replied as she took a seat on a bench by the changing rooms.

Phoebe walked over to sit next to Helga, fixing her glasses on her nose before she spoke.

"He may still ask, maybe not today or tomorrow, but it could still happen." Phoebe said, trying to reassure Helga as much as she could. "Look, for now you have this other nice guy asking you. Not to mention good looking."

Helga looked at Phoebe smiling, and nudging her with her elbow. She sat there and thought about it for a minute, still not really sure what she wanted to do.

"Ya know, if you aren't ready to say yes to a date with him then maybe you can tell him you will go with him as friends. Whatever happens from there happens." Phoebe suggested giving Helga a friendly smile.

"You're right Pheebs, I can at least give him some kind of response. I've made him wait this long, and he hasn't bothered me once about it. Can't beat that." She said with a laugh.

"Exactly." Phoebe said, "Oh by the way, that shirt you had would've been great for tonight. I think you should get it."

The girls finally finished their shopping, surprisingly very few visits to the dressing rooms were made. They had both found something for the party tonight, and now heading to Helga's house to get ready. Helga had taken Phoebe's advice and text Chance back, telling him it would be cool to go together as _friends_ for now. Like what Phoebe had said, whatever happens from there happens.

Walking into Helga's bedroom, they laid their clothes for the night out on the bed and took turns in the bathroom. Phoebe helped Helga with her hair, loose curls now falling down her back, and Phoebe's short hair flipped out at the ends. Helga had bought the top that Phoebe had suggested in the store, it was a dark rose pink, tiny crystals completely covering it. It had a little extra fabric in the front, the neck line coming down into a V shape with the extra fabric creating a layering affect. The back was a little lower than the front, smaller pieces of fabric crisscrossing the back. The top came down to her hips, fitting snug, but not tight, just enough to show a little curve. She wore dark skinny jeans that complimented the top very well and finished it with metallic pearl pink flats.

Between the shirt and shoes, Helga really didn't need to accessorize. She walked over to her vanity where Phoebe was already putting on her makeup. Phoebe had chosen a powder blue top with thin gold stripes running from top to bottom, complementing it with a dark denim jacket with the sleeves rolled midway. She also wore a pair of skinny jeans with a pair of gold sandals.

Helga finished putting on her makeup, a technique she perfected while attending the all-girls boarding school. She took a step back to examine herself in the mirror, a smile crept across her face. She could not be happier at how she had come to look over time.

"Hey Helga are you ready? Gerald and Chance are waiting outside." Phoebe said as she looked up from her phone.

Helga took one more last deep breath before heading downstairs to meet the guys. The front door opened to reveal a very well dressed Gerald, now grinning from ear to ear once he saw Phoebe. Helga looked over at Chance, she had to admit she was very glad at this moment she was going with him even if it was just as friends. _Dang he looks amazing_. She thought as she gave him the once over before stepping down to greet him.

"You two ready to get going?" Gerald asked, as he jingled his car keys in the air. All four got in his car and made their way over to Arnolds for the party. Helga and Phoebe sat in the back while the guys sat up front, not much was said during the ride. For one it was a short trip, but mainly because Gerald had the music turned up so loud she could barely hear herself think.

They arrived shortly after, making their way upstairs to get access to the roof where everyone was. Helga was happy she was there with her friends, but she couldn't stop thinking about how much she wanted to be there with another certain person. She decided to make her way over to the refreshments table and grab something to drink, making small talk with Harold who was already digging into the food. Helga noticed that Big Patty wasn't there, which made her ask Harold if he was alone.

"Um…uh, no. Why would you think that? What you think no one would want to come with me?" He said, more of a nervousness coming from him than if he had been offended. Helga couldn't help but think he might be hiding something, she didn't really care to pry so she just grabbed her drink and walked over to where Phoebe and Chance were.

She took a seat, taking a look around observing the surroundings and everyone that was there. She noticed it was pretty much the same group that as at the pool party with a few extras she did not know. Right about that time she felt someone tap her on the shoulder, startling her a bit almost making her spit out her drink. She turned around the see Arnold, his amazing green eyes looking into hers, a smile trailing across his face.

"So I see you made it." He said.

"Yeah you too." Helga replied jokingly making Arnold chuckle. They both stood there making small talk for a bit. Throwing a joke out every now and then to lighten the mood. There was a bit of a nervous tension between them both but neither one would let it show. After a few minutes they just stood together listening to the music, when Helga noticed him turn his attention back to her.

"You look amazing by the way." Arnold said leaning in close so she could hear him over the music. It was a good thing the sun was starting to go down, otherwise he would have seen just how red Helga's face had turned. She just shot him a quick smile, trying to play off just how nervous she had become. This of course did not go unnoticed, Chance who had been standing over by Gerald noticed the two of them conversing.

"I've been meaning to ask you something," Arnold started, "the other night when I text you about the party, I tried to send one more text." Helga looked at him, _he sent one more text?_

"Ok?" Helga's attention was completely his at this point.

"Well remember how I was asking if you were going to be coming here with someone?" He said running his hand up and down his neck, seeming to fight for the right words to say.

"Yeah I remember." Helga answered, her curiosity almost consuming her now. _What was he trying to get to?_

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, "Well I wanted to know if you were going to bring someone….because well I….I wanted to…a-ask you ou-" he was cut off when Chance came up and grabbed Helga by the hand leading them over to where some of the others were dancing.

Helga shot a look back at Arnold who was standing there, he looked…..sad, disappointed. She looked back at Chance, who was facing away from her as he led her away from Arnold, to notice a grin planted on his face. _What the heck was going on?_

**Ok, ok let me know about this chapter, like or no? Review! Thanks! :) The chapters that follow may eventually have a different rating since there are some events that may be rated more than what T covers. I will mention in the beginning. **


	7. Chapter 7 Friend or Foe

**Ok, so for the past few days I have been working on revising the last few chapters. The reviews I got weren't bad, just made me rethink where I was going, and to be honest I kind of lost my train of thought. Here is the revision of chapter 7. Chapter 8, and 9 are to follow.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold!**

Helga was still a little taken back by Chance, he led her towards the spot that had been deemed the dance floor. He spun around letting go of her hand for a moment before pulling her in close, Gerald had switched to a slow song just before that making everyone else do the same. Helga's head was spinning as she tried to make sense of everything, and caught her breath when she felt his hands make their way to her hips. She looked up at him, their eyes meeting, and slowly placed her hands on his shoulders.

She couldn't stop staring at him, it was like he had her under some kind of spell unable to look away. She wanted to speak to him about what had just happened, but the words were trapped behind her lips. All she could do was think to herself, _what the hell was that all about? What was Arnold trying to say to me_? _And why didn't I bother to pull away from Chance's grip as he led me away?_

These thoughts played through her mind as she danced with him, it wasn't even really like she was dancing though. She could feel herself moving with him, but it was as if she couldn't control it. Quickly being pulled out of her daze as Chance wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her as close as possible. She kept her hands on his shoulders, now feeling his breath on her neck sending chills down her spine.

For some reason Helga just couldn't seem to keep herself composed around this guy, plus his actions seemed to leave her completely confused. By this time she noticed that they had stopped, the music had stopped playing. Chance letting a little distance between them now to take one more look into her eyes before he spoke, "Thanks for the dance." He said, a smile now present on his face.

"Yeah sure." Helga replied, as she took a step back from him. She gave him a sincere smile, the sound of another slow song catching her attention.

"Ok…I am not going to let you weasel in another dance buddy." She said kind of jokingly, finally able to find her composer.

"Yeah, you're right," Chance chuckled at her comment, "I should have asked first."

Helga smiled once more before turning around to make her way off the dance floor…only to almost run into Arnold who had walked up behind her silently. He gave her a smile before taking her hand in his, this of course made her heart race, and she felt as if it might jump out of her chest.

"Well, let me be the one to politely ask you to dance." He said gesturing to the dance floor. Helga couldn't say no, why would she after all? Helga nervously nodded her head, letting him lead her to the other side of the dance floor closer to one of the big speakers.

Arnold turned to face her once they were where he had led them, taking her hands and placing them on his shoulders and his own on her waist. Helga could feel herself becoming light headed, but from pure bliss, the butterflies dancing around in her stomach as they moved to the music. She looked up, her eyes meeting his, she could feel her knees becoming weak, but fought it as best she could. Helga gasped as Arnold pulled her in closer, closer than even Chance had earlier. Guessing that he heard her gasp at the decrease in distance between them he leaned in, his lips less than an inch from her ear.

"Are you ok?" he asked softly, the feeling of his breath causing chills to race down her, neck and back. As a reaction to the chills she shivered a bit, which in turn made him pull her body into his a little tighter.

She took in a deep breath, she could smell the scent of his cologne, closing her eyes she finally breathed, "Yes, Arnold, I'm fine." Yes she had gotten similar feelings as she danced with Chance, but not to this magnitude. The world around her seemed to just feel safe, and secure. As the song came to an end, he placed his hand under her chin tilting her head upward until her eyes met with his.

"Mind if we finish our previous conversation?" he asked, looking into her eyes as he waited for an answer.

Helga had completely forgotten for a moment what he was talking about, being completely caught up in their dance her mind went elsewhere. It took her a second or two, but she finally regained her thoughts and remembered that just before Chance had pulled her onto the dance floor, Arnold was about to tell her something. She also took a mental note to ask Chance what was up with him.

"Sure." She finally managed to reply.

Helga felt Arnold's hand slid into hers, now walking off the dance floor, but right about that time, Helga's phone went off. "Helga, meet me in the bathroom!" It was Phoebe. She looked at Arnold, "Hey, can this wait for a minute? I have to meet Phoebe in the bathroom. I'm not sure why, but hopefully it won't take too long." Arnold let out a low sigh, "Ok. See you when you get finished." He shot her a smile and made his way over to where Gerald was.

Helga turned her attention back to her phone, "Ok, on my way down." She text back. Helga made her way to the bathroom where Phoebe was at, walking inside she also saw Nadine, Sheena, and Rhonda. Rhonda was sitting on the edge of the bathtub, she had her head in the palms of her hands. Helga looked over at Phoebe with a questioning expression.

"Rhonda got a message from Big Patty, saying that she was gonna get it." Phoebe said in a hushed tone so as the others couldn't hear her.

Helga's eyes widened, "Oh, wow. Why is Big Patty so mad at Rhonda? I mean I know not very many people get along with her and all, but what could she have done?"

"Well, rumor has it that Harold left her for Rhonda in secret." Phoebe whispered.

"No way." Helga replied, her attention went to Rhonda, still sitting on the edge of the tub, Nadine trying to comfort her.

"Apparently, they had been secretly seeing one another for quite some time now. Harold just didn't have the guts to break it off with Big Patty." Phoebe said.

"Well, what do we need to do? Why did you call me down here?" Helga asked, placing her hands on her hips.

"Because, as much as we don't get along, you are the only one besides one of the guys that I would feel safe walking me to my car." Rhonda spoke up, her voice cracking a little.

Helga pinched the bridge of her nose, _Great_, she thought, "So basically you called me down here to escort you to your car because you think I can protect you from Big Patty?"

Rhonda looked at Helga, as well as the other girls, seeming to beg for her help with their eyes. "Criminy, ok look, I will walk you out. I am not going to fight anybody tonight, especially not Big Patty. If she makes a move I will try to distract her a bit, but girl I hope you can run."

"Thank you, Helga, I will owe you one for this." Rhonda said standing up wiping her face with the palm of her hand.

"Don't thank me just yet." Helga said as she gestured for Rhonda to follow her.

**Meanwhile on the roof…**

The guys were all sitting around the DJ booth with Gerald, waiting for their dates to come back from where ever they were.

"I wonder where the girls ran off too." Gerald said, as he rummaged through his music.

"Oh, they are probably primping in a mirror somewhere. You know how girls are, they travel in packs." Said Stinky as the adjusted the collar of his shirt.

"Well, Helga got a text from Phoebe a few minutes ago to meet her in the bathroom. Are they all down there?" Arnold spoke up.

"I think I know what's up," Harold huffed as he sat forward in his chair placing his elbows on his knees, "Rhonda got a message from Patty earlier."

The guys all turned their attention to Harold who was not looking up from the ground. Gerald raised an eyebrow at Harold's lack of information, "And?"

"And…well, she said she was gonna get Rhonda tonight when she left the party." Harold started, "Rhonda went down to the bathroom freaking out. She said she needed to get Helga."

"Care to fill us in on why Big Patty wants to get Rhonda?" Gerald asked, "I mean other than the obvious."

"It's because…w-we have been secretly seeing one another." Harold started trailing off towards the end.

"Ha! I knew something was up with you two!" Sid called out, pointing at Harold.

"So what did Rhonda need Helga for Harold?" asked Chance.

"For the obvious, Helga is the only one that Rhonda thinks will be able to stand up against Patty." Harold said in a bit of a frustrated tone.

Arnold started to look a little worried at this, thinking back to grade school when Big Patty had threatened to beat Helga up, and how scared Helga was. He was off in his own thoughts not noticing that Chance had taken a seat next to him. "Hey, Arnold?" Chance said trying to get Arnold's attention.

Arnold shook his head a bit, "Huh? Oh hey."

"So speaking of Helga," Chance started, now speaking only loud enough for the both of them to hear, "I noticed how close you two were on the dance floor. You got a thing for her?"

Arnold just kind of stared at Chance a little bewildered.

"I mean it's cool if you do man." Chance said, reading Arnold's face like a book. A sly grin making its way onto his face, "So, you ask her out yet?"

Arnold looked at Chance, wondering why he was asking all these questions.

"I meant no offense Arnold. I wouldn't blame you if you do have a thing for her. I mean, who wouldn't? She is a gorgeous girl, she is funny, and…..well you know the rest." Chance said chuckling.

"Yeah." Arnold finally replied. "She is amazing, beautiful, and very intelligent."

Chance moved his attention away from Arnold, staring out into space, "I know we don't have a lot of history with our friendship, but I'm going to say this Arnold….if you really like her then stop hesitating and tell her."

Arnold raised an eyebrow at his friend's comment, "Yeah, trust me I have been trying. It just seems like every time I almost get the words out of my mouth I get interrupted."

Chance gave Arnold an apologetic look, "Was I one of those interruptions?" the look on Arnold's face said it all, "Oh….man I am sorry about that. If I had known I would have stayed back."

Arnold gave Chance a friendly smile, as they turned their attention back to the others.

**Back to the girls…..**

_Jeeze how the heck do I get myself into these things?_ Helga thought as she approached the front door with a very nervous Rhonda trailing behind. She turned around as she placed her hand on the door handle, "Remember what I said Rhonda." She said in a stern tone. She slowly turned the door handle, feeling nervous herself. She didn't want to end her night getting into a fight with Big Patty, being sent to the hospital, or worse _dead_.

Helga took the first few steps outside checking the area before signaling the all clear to Rhonda. Rhonda, Nadine, Phoebe, and Sheena stepped outside, slowly making their way over to Helga.

"HEY RHONDA!" a voice boomed. All the girls spun around, wide eyed seeing Big Patty stomping fiercely in their direction.

"HELGA!" Rhonda called as she coward behind the other girls.

**Back on the roof….**

"Hey did you here that?" Stinky said standing up, "Sounded like yelling."

All the guys got up and hurriedly made their way over the edge of the roof, looking over to see what the commotion was all about.

"Uh, Oh." Gerald said, eyebrows raised at the sight below, "Looks like your ex-girlfriend just found your new girlfriend Harold."

**Back to the girls…**

Helga bolted towards Rhonda, grabbing her by the collar of her shirt, "Get out of here now!" Helga demanded. She then turned her attention towards Big Patty, "Patty, wait just a second." Helga said raising her hands as if to brace herself for impact.

Big Patty pointed, "This has nothing to do with you Pataki! Now move it or I will be forced to rearrange that pretty face of yours."

_Oh shit, here we go_ Helga thought. All the while the guys helplessly observing from the rooftop. Helga stepped in the path of Big Patty, doing her best to uphold her word of giving Rhonda a chance to make a mad dash for her car. It seemed that Big Patty saw right through their plan, as she made a run for Rhonda. As if by instinct, Helga turned and sprinted after Big Patty trying her best to catch her before she got her hands on Rhonda.

**On the roof….**

The guys could only watch in horror, not really knowing what they could do. None of them wanted to stand up to Big Patty, but they couldn't just let Helga get destroyed. They all made a dash for the fire escape, trying to get down as fast as they could without falling. Even Harold joined them, even though he had no intentions of confronting Big Patty.

**Back to Helga…..**

Somehow she managed to catch up to Big Patty, running her shoulder into Patty's side throwing her off balance. The two of them fell, rolling a few feet before coming to a stop. By that time all the guys had come up to where the girls were standing, unable to move. Helga looked up from where she laid, she saw that Rhonda had made it to her car and was speeding off, squealing tires in the process.

"Damn you Pataki!" She heard from behind her, Patty had already gotten to her feet and was now making her way to Helga. Helga did her best to get up as fast as she could, but Patty was faster. Patty grabbed Helga by her arms lifting her off the ground and slamming her into a nearby tree, letting go of one arm to rear her fist back. Helga, trying to catch her breath from the impact, looked at Patty as she was about to swing, able to shift herself just enough causing Patty to miss and hit the tree instead. Patty dropped Helga, grabbing her throbbing hand and wincing in pain. Helga took a few steps back, "Patty, please is this really necessary?!" Helga said trying to catch her breath.

"It doesn't matter now," Patty started, "they hurt me and now I'm going to hurt them."

"Patty listen, I know all about hurt when it comes to a guy, trust me." Helga started, glancing over seeing the guys now standing with the girls. "I know how it feels to want to pound the crap out of the ones that hurt you, but honestly what does that do besides cause more pain?"

Patty stood there looking at the ground, she took a deep breath before finally speaking, "How did you become so sentimental Pataki?"

Helga chuckled nervously, "I didn't, I just don't see the point in hurting people anymore. The way I see it they will have a whole lifetime to pay for the pain that they caused others." Helga reached her hand out to Patty, trying to show her some kind of compassion.

Patty looked at Helga's outstretched hand, then looked up at Helga, "Ok," She sighed, "I'm sorry I tried to knock your block off." Patty shot Helga her best apologetic smile, before taking her hand.

Almost in unison, a sigh of relief could be heard from the crowd of onlookers. The group slowly made their way back up to the roof to get back to the party. Helga said goodbye to Big Patty and made her way over to Phoebe, who had waited for her.

"Wow, well there is my near death experience for this year." Helga said with a chuckle.

"Let's just get back up stairs." Phoebe responded, still a little shaken.

Back on the roof, Helga was standing over by Phoebe and Gerald as he set up his next round of music, Arnold helping with the music selection. She felt someone tap her on the shoulder, turning around she saw Chance. Sporting his cool man grin, this made her smile, "Oh, hi Chance."

"Hey, how are you doing after, you know…that?" He asked.

She took a deep breath, "Fine, I'm just glad that I'm not on my way to the hospital right now." She laughed.

The sound of her laughing made Arnold look up at her, seeing Chance talking to her.

"Well that's always good right?" Chance said jokingly, "Otherwise I wouldn't get to ask you this."

"Ask me what?" Helga said slightly tilting her head. At this point Arnold was now making his way around

"A couple of us are getting together on Tuesday to hang out for a while, the weather is supposed to be awesome. I thought I would ask if you would like to join us." Chance explained.

"Sure that sounds great." Helga replied. Moving her gaze over to Arnold giving him a friendly smile, which he returned with one of his own.

"Great! I will text you the details later." Chance said as he made his way back over to where Gerald was.

Helga walked over to where Arnold was now sitting and took a seat next to him. "So, it's not every night you almost see someone get beaten into a tree huh?" Helga said jokingly.

Arnold laughed a little, "This is true, but I am just relieved you are not hurt." He passed her a caring smile as they sat in silence for a while taking in the music, and letting the calm find them again.

**Was the revision a little better? Review please. **


	8. Chapter 8 Really?

**Ok, so here is the revised chapter eight.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold!**

The party continued on, not much excitement after Helga's and Rhonda's near death experience with Big Patty. Other than Sid accidentally spilling punch on Harold who in return chased him around the roof threatening to pound him. It was pretty entertaining watching Harold chase him around the roof with a half-eaten sub sandwich.

Chance walked up to Arnold, who was still sitting with Helga, "Hey, Arnold, mind if I talk with you for a minute?"

"Sure." Arnold replied, as he stood up and excused himself from Helga.

They both walk a good distance away from the others, making sure to at least be out of ear shot of Helga.

**Back to Helga….**

As Helga sat by herself, she had a minute to think to herself being reminded of just before the confrontation with Big Patty, Arnold had said he wanted to tell her something. _Maybe he forgot_, she thought, _I mean a lot did happen in between that time and now so it wouldn't surprise me if he did_.

**Meanwhile, Chance and Arnold…**

Arnold followed Chance, "So, what is this about?" He asked.

Chance turned around once they got far enough away, making sure that Helga couldn't hear them then waved for Gerald to come over as well. Arnold started to look a little worried, not knowing what his two friends were up to.

"Ok so, here is the reason we decided to pull you off to the side." Chance started, then nodded at Gerald.

Arnold then looked at Gerald, "Arnold, you are my best friend so you have to understand why I am going to ask you this. Are you out of your mind?" Arnold looked at Gerald, a little shocked at his question, "What do you mean?" Arnold replied.

"Helga." Chance answered. Arnold let out a long sigh, "Yes, what about her?"

"Arnold, it is no secret that since Helga got back you have looked at her different. You like her, but as your best friend I have to ask if you are sure about what you are doing?" Gerald said, looking a bit worried.

"I know what you are thinking Gerald, you keep picturing the old Helga, the one that used to bully us all to no end….but she has change Gerald, I can see it, I can feel it." Arnold said to Gerald, in a comforting tone as he looked between Gerald and Chance. Gerald looked at Arnold, he pinched the bridge of his nose with one hand, the other hand on his hip.

"Ok." Gerald finally said, "Well then I guess my next question would be, have you told her anything?"

Arnold shook his head no, "Yeah he might have been in the process of that when I interrupted him earlier." Chance said with a guilty look on his face.

"No, no, that's perfect." Gerald started gaining a look of confusion from Arnold, "Check it out, some of us are going to be hanging out on Tuesday, if you are serious about doing this man, then that would be a better time. You will have the opportunity to hang out with her again without having to ask her out just yet, giving you a chance to get to know the new Helga a little better."

"Well she already said she was going, I asked her earlier. This is why I wanted to talk to you as well." Chance informed.

"Well I was going to tell her tonight, but I like that idea. I just hope I don't blow it." Arnold said, looking over in Helga's direction.

"Don't worry man, you will have us there to help you out." Gerald said with a smile. "I do have to admit, I do like this Helga much better."

**Back to Helga…..**

Helga took a quick glance at her phone deciding that it was time for her to go home, it was starting to get late and she had told Bod and Miriam that she would be back before midnight.

"Hey any way I could get a ride home from someone?" She asked to the group.

Everyone shared glances between one another, each one saying that they were not planning on leaving just yet. It took a minute before someone finally spoke up, "Sure I will take you home, just let me grab my keys." She looked up to see Arnold, walking back over with Gerald and Chance behind him.

"Thanks." She said. Grabbing her things she gave Phoebe a hug, gave a quick goodbye hand bump to Gerald, and said good night to everyone.

"See you on Tuesday." Chance reminded her.

Helga returned a smile to him, and made her way over to where Arnold was now waiting. They both made their way to Arnold's car, talking a little bit to keep the awkward silence at bay. Arnold, a gentleman as always, opened the car door for Helga to get in closing it gently once she was inside.

"Ok, just tell me which way to go." Arnold said as he started the car, looking over at Helga with a smile.

…**at Helga's **

Helga walked up to her room after Arnold dropped her off, he even got out of the car to open the door for her. She had laughed at him a little due to him tripping on the curb, and trying to play it off with a goofy grin on his face.

Helga now in her room, laid on her bed, the thoughts of that night's events still fresh in her mind. Thinking about all that could have happened, slowly drifting off to sleep the picture of Arnold's face being the last image that ran through her mind before she fell asleep….with a smile.

…**.at Arnold's **

The party was now over, everyone had gone home and now Arnold sat in his bed reviewing the night's events in his head. He lay there thinking about his dance with Helga, the way she felt, the way she moved with him, how it felt so right. He thought about how much she had changed, and how much he liked that change. Arnold couldn't get his mind off of Helga, he thought he might have had slight feelings for her a few years ago, but now he was sure of it.

He mentally slapped himself in the head at the thought of how many times he has come so close to telling her just how he felt since she came back to Hillwood, but something always seemed to happen keeping him from telling her. His thoughts then turned to the conversation he had, had with Chance and Gerald. He honestly was happy to have friends that worried about him, and that were willing to help him find the courage he needed to tell Helga how he felt.

Arnold laid back on his bed, staring out the skylight above his room at the stars. Letting out a long sigh, he had made his decision, he was going to tell Helga how he felt on Tuesday no excuses. He slowly closed his eyes drifting off to sleep.

…**.Tuesday morning**

The days leading up to Tuesday went by in a flash, before Helga knew it that day was here. She sat on her bed for a while, just thinking about random stuff. Her thoughts were interrupted when her phone rang….it was Chance.

"Hello." Helga answered.

"Hey, it's Chance. You doing alright?" he asked.

"About as good as alright can be." She replied, making him laugh a little.

"Well, if it is ok with you we will come by to pick you up around 2 o'clock. Is that cool with you?" he asked.

"Yeah that is fine. Who else is there?" She asked.

"Gerald and Phoebe, of course." Chance laughed. "Me, Arnold, and you."

Helga smiled at the thought of getting to spend more time around Arnold, "Awesome. See you guys then." With that she said goodbye ending the call, and making her way over to her closet. Helga wanted to find something nice, but not too nice. She searched through her closet, trying on a couple of different pieces before settling for a nice sundress she hadn't worn in a while. It was a blush color, small white flower covering the top half, cinched at the waist. The bottom half was just the solid blush color, made of a flowing material that ended right above her knees. She grabbed a pair of tan sandals with thin braided straps that went just above her ankle. She finished it off with a touch of makeup, she loosely curled her hair, and pulled it up into a ponytail letting her bangs frame her face.

Right on time, the doorbell rang at 2 o'clock. Helga made her way downstairs to open the door, there stood Phoebe and Gerald. Chance was standing off to the side with Arnold when Helga stepped out the door.

"You ready to get going?" Phoebe asked with a sweet smile.

"Yes ma'am." Helga replied a smile now on her face.

"I hope you don't mind walking. It's a nice day so we didn't see the point in wasting it with a car ride, plus the diner isn't far from here." Gerald started. "Does that sound ok?" Phoebe asked speaking around Gerald.

"That is fine with me." She chuckled a little, "I don't see the point in wasting a nice day either. So what else do you guys have planned? Or am I going to have to keep guessing?" Phoebe just gave her a quick smile as they walked down the sidewalk, enjoying the beautiful day. They arrived shortly after at a place called "Ray's Diner", Helga didn't recognize it from when she was last in Hillwood, _this must be new_, she thought as they walked inside.

"I don't think this place was here when I left a few years ago." Helga said.

"Yeah it's only six months old or so but the food is amazing. You're not one of those, I can only eat a salad, kind of girls are you?" Chance asked as they walked over to a booth in the far corner of the diner.

"Heck no!" Helga laughed, "Are you kidding me? I would starve, I'll take a salad if there is a hamburger patty, cheese and two buns that go with it….with fries on the side."

Chance laughed at her answer, "That's what I'm talking about." This making the others laugh a bit too, knowing that the old Helga was never a salad kind of girl so no surprise that, that hadn't changed.

They sat at the booth, Gerald and Phoebe together on one side, and Chance walking over to grab a chair for himself, Gerald signaled for Arnold and Helga to sit across from them. Chance came back with a chair and sat at the end of the table. Each one ordered, talking and cracking plenty of jokes as they waited for their food, this of course not ending upon the arrival of the food. After paying they made their way out, and started walking a little further down the street before crossing the road.

"So, where to now?" Helga asked curiously.

"A walk in the park. It's not really a, let's go sit in a dark movie theatre, kinda day." Chance responded.

"Sounds good to me, lead the way." Arnold said as he gestured with his hands.

They walked a good ways before making it to the park, talking and joking practically the whole way. Helga and Arnold had started to walk beside one another without noticing, but this did not go unnoticed by the others as Gerald and Chance cut each other a smile.

As they approached a bench in the park just off the trail, Chance made the suggestion to take a seat. Helga nodded her head, her feet did hurt a little from her shoes so sitting down for a minute sounded great, everyone also agreeing. As she sat down, Helga bent down to unstrap her shoes for a moment, and placed her bare feet on the soft grass. Arnold sat next to her, "That looks like a good idea." He said as he took his shoes off and placed his feet on the soft grass. They both sat there talking, not really paying attention to anything around them. Not noticing that the others had put a little distance between them.

"Hey, mind if I ask you something?" Arnold suddenly spoke, breaking the short silence that had befallen them.

"Um, sure. What's on your mind?" Helga responded. Moving her gaze from the ground to Arnold as he spoke.

**Over to the others…..**

"You think he is going to tell her?" Chance asked Gerald.

"Tell who what?" Phoebe ask curiously.

"Well, the whole point of getting those two to come with us today was so that Arnold would finally tell Helga how he feels." Gerald said to Phoebe.

"You mean….Arnold has been wanting to tell Helga…that he..." Phoebe started, a smile starting to form on her face as she realized what was going on.

"Yep." Chance said, nodding his head in unison with Gerald.

"He better tell her, or I'm gonna kick him." Phoebe said, looking over towards Arnold and Helga.

Gerald and Chance laughed, "Did sweet Phoebe just make a threat?" Chance asked.

Phoebe just shot him a devilish grin.

**Reviews for the revised chapter please and thank you! :) **


	9. Chapter 9 Twisted minds

**Revised chapter nine as promised. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold!**

**Arnold and Helga…**

Arnold drew in a deep breath as he fought to find the words he was looking for, he looked at Helga, and all he could do was smile inside. He was having trouble finding the words to tell her, apparently this didn't go unnoticed.

"Arnold, are you ok?" Helga asked, tilting her head to the side a bit.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just…I'm…" Arnold tried to find the words, he took a deep breath.

"So….today was fun. I hope we can get a chance to do it again." Arnold said, mentally slapping himself multiple times. He couldn't understand why it was so hard to just tell her, he wanted to, wanted to just say it.

"Oh. Yeah it was, I hope we can to." Helga replied, a small part of her was hoping for something else.

The two sat for a minute each turning their focus on their feet in the grass. The others had noticed this and started to make their way back over before things got too awkward. A slight look of disappointment on Gerald's, Phoebe's, and Chance's faces as they walked closer to Arnold and Helga.

"Jeeze, why can't these two just say it?" Gerald whispered to Phoebe and Chance.

"I have an idea." Chance whispered back to Gerald, "My party on Saturday."

Gerald's eyes grew wide, "Yeah, I almost forgot man. That might work, since it doesn't look like they are going to say much more here."

"I have another idea on top of that." Chance started. "Just trust me ok, I think I know someone who might be able to give him that push he needs."

The three of them nodded in unison as they walked the remainder of the way to where Arnold and Helga were sitting.

"So you two about ready to head out of here?" Gerald asked as they walked up. Arnold and Helga both looked up at their friends, then at one another, "Yeah." Arnold finally spoke up.

"Oh hey, don't forget I am having a party on Saturday. You two going to be there or am I going to have to drag you both?" Chance said, looking at Arnold and Helga with an eyebrow raised.

Helga laughed nervously, "Yeah, sure I will be there." Chance now directing his attention over to Arnold, "Yeah, I already said I was. Remember?"

"Yeah, well we all know how you tend to forget certain important things." Chance said, shifting his glance over to Helga.

**Helga's room….**

Helga was sitting on her bed reading when she heard her phone go off, it was a text message from Chance. "Don't forget my party tomorrow. You are still coming right?" he text.

Helga read his text, thinking about hanging with everyone again made her smile.

"Yeah, Phoebe and Gerald are going to pick me up." She text back.

"Sweet! See you tomorrow." He responded.

**The party…**

Arnold arrived at the party, noticing a few other people were there helping finish set up and just mingling. He walked around looking at everything, the party was being held at Chance's house in the back yard.

"Hey Arnold!" Arnold turned around, it was Chance calling from the far side of the yard. Arnold took a deep breath and headed over to see what he wanted.

"Hey." Arnold replied, "It's looking nice. Almost done getting everything?"

"Yep. You ready for this?" Chance said looking around the backyard.

"Well yeah. I mean it's just a party with some friends, nothing new." Arnold replied.

"That's not what I was referring to." Chance said looking at Arnold a half smirk planted on his face. Arnold just stood there in silence, not really making any effort to give Chance and answer.

"Well, Helga will be here for sure." Chance finally said as he turned back to what he was doing.

…**..**

It was about 7 o'clock when Helga arrived with Phoebe and Gerald. Walking in they saw a decent amount of people standing around. After scanning the crowd for a minute, they spotted a group of people that they knew and made their way over to them. There was of course Harold who was now officially with Rhonda, Eugene and Sheena, Stinky and Nadine, and Sid with himself. He kept claiming that his date was just running late, _more like running away_ Helga thought silently laughing.

Right about then Helga spotted a girl she recognized, red hair in two braided pigtails, freckles, and a light green sundress. No doubt about it, it was Lila. Helga didn't see anyone with her so she decided to walk over and have a talk.

"Hey Lila" Helga said waving. Lila gave her a questioning look, "It's me Helga Pataki."

"Oooh my, Helga? You look amazing!" Lila said in her soft girly tone. Lila walked up and gave Helga a friendly hug, "It's ever so nice to see you."

"Yeah you too." Helga replied, "So are you here by yourself?"

"Oh no, he is in the bathroom….oh here he comes now." She said waving to someone behind Helga.

Helga turned around to see….."Arnie?" He walked up putting his arm around Lila's waist, giving Helga the once over before shooting her a creepy half smile. Helga shuttered at his smile and turned her attention back to Lila.

"So who are you with?" Lila asked. Helga just shook her head, "Myself I guess."

"Oh I'm ever so sorry." Lila said as she covered her mouth.

"It's ok." Helga replied trying to smile nicely shrugging her shoulders.

Helga stood there talking to Lila for a little while longer which kind of surprised her. Now she seemed to be able to deal with her better than when they were in grade school. After a few minutes had passed by, Helga suddenly felt someone nudge her. She turned around, it was Chance, he looked over at Lila with an eyebrow raised and turned his attention back to Helga.

"You doing ok?" Chance asked.

Helga nodded.

"Good." Chance said, now a curious look on his face. "So, have you seen Arnold yet?"

As she was about to answer, Arnold had walked up to them, "Hey Arnie,…..Lila. Oh hey Helga, I didn't see you standing over here." Arnold said, emphasis on the displeasure of seeing Lila.

"Guess I'm doing a better job at blending in with the crowd than I thought." Helga said jokingly, earning a laugh from all of them.

"Helga mind if I talk to you for a minute." Chance asked.

"Um yeah sure." Helga answered, glancing at Arnold then to the others, "Be right back."

As they turned to walk away Chance shot Lila a look, and continued on. Arnold noticed and looked over at Lila who was now scolding him, "Ok, what is this about?" Arnold said noticing the look on her face.

"You know exactly what." Lila said throwing off her _sweet girl_ charade. "Why haven't you asked her yet?" she demanded.

"What?" Arnold replied, a little shocked by Lila's reaction.

"Look Arnold, I know we don't see eye to eye after what happened between us, but I think it's time for you to go after the person you really care about like I did." She said pointing to Arnie as her example.

"What?" was all Arnold could say.

"Helga!" Lila said in a stern tone, "I know you care about her Arnold, I could tell by the way you use to look at her."

**Over to Chance and Helga….**

Helga made her way through the crowd following Chance. They came up to where Gerald and the others had been standing. Chance looked at her, "Wait here a minute I need to go find my phone." He said. Helga nodded and made her way over to Phoebe to talk who was standing next to Gerald, hand in hand.

…**..meanwhile**

Arnold could just stand there and stare at Lila, trying to take in everything she was saying. "Ok, yes I care about her, but I don't see why that is any business of yours." He finally said, "I am just having a hard time finding the right words to say to her."

"Is that so?" Chance said from behind Arnold, making him jump slightly. "Well that explains why you haven't said anything yet." Chance giving Arnold a, lets get real look.

"Yep…that about sums it up." Arnold said.

Chance let out a little laugh, "Arnold, look now is as good a time as any. If you keep waiting you might miss your chance….think about it, the worst that she could say is no. Right? As long as you are sure you aren't getting into something stupid like before." He said as he shot a look over at Lila, who in return rolled her eyes.

Arnold closed his eyes, placing his hand on his forehead then looking at Chance before looking over at Lila asking, "So you are in on this too?" Lila smiled. That was enough of an answer for him.

"Does Helga know anything?" Arnold asked.

"I am sure she suspects something, but I am not sure if she _knows_." Chance answered. "She is about as oblivious as you are."

Arnold took a deep breath in as he thought about everything he had just been told.

"If you don't get your butt over there and ask her I will. Do it ever so quickly, time is wasting, and you have waited long enough." She said gesturing for him to get going.

Arnold raised his hands as if to be surrendering, "Ok…where is she?" Arnold asked looking over at Chance. He made his way through the crowd looking for Helga, going the way Chance had directed him, all the while he kept thinking what he was going to do.

…**..back to Helga **

Helga stood talking to Phoebe when she saw Arnold walking up. She paused her conversation with Phoebe who in turn looked at Arnold. She saw him waving his hand signaling for her to follow him, she looked at Phoebe and shrugged her shoulders. Helga walked over to Arnold who surprisingly took her by the hand and started leading them away from the group. Helga could feel her heart racing as he squeezed her hand tighter, walking through the crowd of people. Right about that time, as if on cue, a slow song started to play.

Helga stopped just short of running into Arnold as he had stopped suddenly at the change of the music. _What the heck is up with the slow music?_ she thought. He turned around to face her and asked, "Want to dance with me?" Helga nodded, and he then led her over to where some others were dancing. She felt those familiar feelings coming back, the same ones that she got when she danced with him at his party.

Arnold brought her body in close to his, placing his hands on her hips. Helga slowly place her hands on his shoulders, trying her best to steady her breathing. As the song played on she felt him pulling her in closer making her blush furiously. Once again he had put her in such a daze, the way she felt his hands on her hips wrapping around her waist, the smell of his cologne.

They continued to dance slowly, taking each other in as the seconds passed. Finally, Helga felt his breath on her ear as he spoke, "Helga?" She pulled away slightly, the feel of his breath still on her sending chills down her back.

"Yes?" she finally answered, looking into his eyes. He leaned in close, their foreheads touching. He closed his eyes, "There is something I have been meaning to tell you." He said softly, "but I always seem to get interrupted. So I have had time to think about how I would say this." Helga just listened as he spoke, closing her eyes hoping to hear the words she had been waiting for.

"I finally decided that it would be better if I just stop trying to fight for the words, and show you." He finally said, opening his eyes. Helga opened her eyes, and looked up slightly at him, "What do you…." She was cut off as his lips found hers, slowly, passionately, Helga thought for a half a second she was going to collapse. She closed her eyes, returning the kiss, feeling his lips turn up into a smile as they stood still, the music continuing to play around them.

"Bout time" they pulled apart a little startle, seeing Gerald standing just outside the lines that made up the "dance floor". Gerald had a grin stretch across his face that could have been seen for a mile at the sight of Arnold and Helga.

"I'll say." Helga said, looking back at Arnold with a smile.

"Nothing is official," Arnold said jokingly shrugging his shoulders, making Helga look at him with a, what the hell look. Arnold turned his attention back to Helga and laughed a little at her expression, "Yet. Helga, I could think of nothing else right now that could make me happier than asking you to be my girlfriend."

Helga's look soften as a smile formed on her face, she chuckled, "I thought you would never ask."

"Is that a yes?" Arnold asked.

"Duh….._football head_." Helga said a playful smirk now on her face.

Arnold let out a slight laugh at her answer, "Good." He leaned in to kiss Helga again.

**Reviews please. Hope the changes were more appealing, and there will be more to follow. **


	10. Chapter 10 Racing Hearts

**Sorry I took a bit to get this next chapter posted, I had a change to the story after reviewing the previous chapters. The reviews I got made me rethink a few things so here it is. Also thanks to everyone who took the time to read an review!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold!**

It was now close to 2 o'clock in the morning, Helga sat in her room staring at the ceiling it had been a little over two weeks since the party. She could still feel the sensation on her lips from the kiss she had waited so long for. Yes, she had kissed him before on top of the FTI building, but this time it was different. He kissed her, and there was much more to it than just a "spur of the moment" thing. She smiled to herself as she closed her eyes, thinking about just how happy she was at the very moment.

**Arnold…..**

He couldn't stop thinking about the party, well mainly the kiss he had shared with Helga. He didn't admit that he was still at a loss for words, and just kind of went for it, hoping that she wouldn't kill him for kissing her. Sure he had plenty of time after to tell her since they made every opportunity to spend time with each other, but he didn't want to risk spoiling anything. Arnold lay in his bed, staring out the skylight at the stars as a smile crept across his face.

**Helga…..**

Helga lay sound asleep in her bed, she had finally managed to fall asleep around 3 something. A loud banging on her bedroom door made her jump up as well as causing her to fall off her bed. As she lay on the floor, she rubbed her eyes a few times trying to focus a bit.

"Hey Ol….I mean Helga, you awake?" It was Bob, _what the hell does he want?_ She thought as she sat up from the floor.

"I am now!" she groaned. _What time is it anyway?_ She asked herself as she looked at her phone, _10 o'clock_. She let out another loud groan as she fell back on the floor again covering her eyes with her arms.

"Come downstairs I have something important to tell you." Bob said through the closed door. She could then hear footsteps fading as the distance grew. _ Great_, she moaned as she got up from her place on the floor.

Helga made her way slowly down the stairs and into the living room where she saw Bob and Miriam waiting with luggage bags around them. Helga looked at the bags and then at her parents, _what the hell is going on here? _She thought.

"Um." Helga said as she pointed towards the various bags.

"Hmm. Oh yeah, look my company has decided that I should be sent on one last trip before summer was over." Bob started, "This time they decided to pay for your mother to accompany me on the trip."

Helga looked at Bob, a blank stare on her face as she waited for the _but_ to come.

"But?" she said waving her hands to continue on.

"But your mother was the only one they were willing to cover, so you will be here by yourself for a few days." Bob finished as he glanced at Miriam, who still hadn't spoken a word.

Deep down Helga was jumping for a joy that she didn't know existed within her, "Oh, ok. Well what am I supposed to do for food, cause I know there isn't much here?" she finally asked, trying to keep her composure in front of them.

"Yeah I guess that would be something to consider." He replied as he took out his wallet. He handed Helga a pretty decent wad of cash before putting it back in his pocket. "There that should cover it for the next four days."

Helga's head shot up, "Four days?!" Bob just shot her a look with a raised eye brow. "Um when are you guys supposed to leave?"

"Oh did I not mention that?" Bob started, following his question a car horn sounded from out front. "Looks like right now, that's the cab." Helga just stood there in disbelief, _of course they don't tell me they are going to leave until they are stepping out the door._

Helga stood in the living room as Bob and Miriam grabbed their bags and made their way out to the cab, "Hey, while we are gone, no wild teenage parties and no BOYS!" Bob yelled out of the back window of the cab as it drove off.

Helga made her way back up to her room after locking the front door, grabbed her cell phone and called Phoebe. It rang a few time before someone finally answered.

"Hello." Phoebe said, sounding a little tired herself.

"Hey Pheebs, sorry if I woke you." Helga said, trying to sound apologetic as she knew how it felt to be dragged out of a good night's sleep.

"Oh, no Helga you are fine. I have been awake for about half an hour, just a little slow today." Phoebe started to say through a yawn.

"Yeah same here. Look I have some news," Helga started, "Bob and Miriam are gone on a business trip for the next few days."

"Oh?" Phoebe replied, a little higher pitch now in her tone.

"Yeah they kind of left, like five minutes ago. I just found out so I really hadn't planned anything while they are gone. So I thought I would call and see if you wanted to hang out with me while they are gone. This house kind of creeps me out at night, and now I am by myself so, yeah."

"Oh, yes of course. We could use some girl time. Want me to bring movies or anything with?" Phoebe asked sounding a little excited.

"Um…well actually can you meet me in town? There are a few things that I need to pick up. The lack of food in the house could prove to be a problem." Helga laughed.

"Of course, when and where?" Phoebe asked sounding even more awake.

"Meet me at the south side of the park around noon. That sound ok?" Helga asked.

"Yes that sounds fine, see you there." Phoebe said with a giggle.

Helga then made her way through her room changing into something comfortable to go shopping in, _no point in trying to dress up to buy food_, she thought as she grabbed a pair of workout shorts and a t-shirt.

She grabbed a little something to eat, cereal seemed to be the only food available half the time, and started making her way out to meet with Phoebe. She decided to save the bus trip for when they were on the way back, so it took a little longer to get to where she was going to meet Phoebe.

**Back to Helga's house…..**

Once the shopping was done both girls arrived back at Helga's house and started to put everything away and set up for a movie night. Phoebe had suggest inviting some of the other girls over to join them, Helga decided that it wouldn't be such a bad idea. Phoebe made the calls and before they knew it Sheena, Nadine, Rhonda, and Lila were there. Helga even made the attempt to call Big Patty, but she decided against it this time due to Rhonda being there and not wanting to clean up a mess if Patty decided to rearrange Rhonda.

Helga stood up in the living room speaking loud enough to be heard over the chatter, "Ok, listen up! Just so that everyone is clear on this I will say it again. This is just for us girls, no guys. Got it?"

All the girls looked back and forth amongst each other before nodding their heads in understanding. "Ok good. Now next question, which movie do we start with first?" Votes between the girls settled on a horror film, which surprised them at their own decision.

Phoebe put the movie in and hit play, each girl now clinging to a pillow for dear life before the introduction of the movie was even over with.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" the girls screamed in unison, even Helga had to admit this movie was vicious. Completely twisted even for her mind set, there were moments when even she had to cover her eyes. The girls had gone from hugging the pillows to hugging each other for dear life. As soon as the end credits hit the screen Phoebe ran over to the light switch and flipped it on as fast as she could.

"Ok, no more movies like that!" Rhonda said holding her chest.

"I agree." A wide eyed Nadine finally said.

"That movie was ever so terrifying." Lila managed to speak.

"Uh, huuuh." A nervous sounding Sheena whispered.

"I hate to admit this but I agree. That was….yeah." Helga said as she gave Phoebe a what the hell look.

"What?...I wanted to make it a good one." Phoebe said as she adjusted her glasses.

"Um…mission accomplished." Helga said as she pointed to the group of very freaked out girls. "Ok well this calls for a comedy of some sort to help everyone relax a bit."

The girls continued to watch movies, avoiding any and all the horror films Phoebe had brought. No one wanted to risk it. As the third movie was in everyone had finally started to calm down. Helga was now sitting on the couch cross legged, when her phone lit up. She looked over, it was a text from Arnold, "Hey, you doing anything later tonight?"

Helga smiled as she read the text, "Just a movie night with the girls. My parents are out of town."

"Oh, ok." He text back.

"Oh, take note…never let Phoebe pick the horror movies. It has taken three comedy films to get everyone to relax." Helga text as she glanced over to Phoebe and snickered to herself.

"Ha. Ok noted." He text followed by, "Do I need to come over and protect you from the scary monsters?"

Helga laughed as she read his text, "No I think I can manage just fine."

" Ok. Well I will text you tomorrow. Have a good night beautiful." Helga felt her face burn from the text, _wow he sure knows how to make a girl melt_, she thought.

"You too." She finally text back, "Have a good night."

Helga didn't know it yet but she would later wish that she had taken him up on his offer to come over, along with some of the other guys….

As the girls sat watching the movie, laughing occasionally at some of the scenes, the sound of the doorbell made them jump. The girls all shared looks of confusion, no one had any idea who it could be, and no one had ordered any kind of food there was plenty in the kitchen after Helga's and Phoebe's trip to town earlier. Helga got up slowly, pausing the TV as she made her way out of the living room towards the front door. She peered through the peep hole and saw a man that she didn't recognize, her heart began to race seeing him standing there. He had a very weird demeanor about him as he fidgeted on the stoop.

Helga shot a glance back at the other girls, all of them wide eyed. Helga made a gesture to keep quiet, but she was sure that this stranger knew they were inside. She looked out of the peep hole again, trying to make out his face a little, she recognized his features. This guy was sitting in the park earlier that day as she made her way through it to meet Phoebe, come to think of it he was also in the same store as them later that afternoon. Helga started to get chills down her spine at the thought of this, looking away from the door glancing over to the girls again.

Helga's heart began to race as she took one last glimpse through the peep hole, this time he was gone. As quietly as she possibly could she reached down to the door lock to make sure that it was locked. To her relief it was, she turned to the girls, "He is gone. I am going to go check the back door real quick. Everyone just be quiet ok." She said as she slowly made her way to the back door. As she walked down the dark hallway towards the kitchen to check the back door she couldn't help but get the feeling that something felt off.

The rest of the girls trailed behind her quietly, clinging to one another remembering the scenes in the horror movie, and what happens at times like this. The girls had stopped a few feet shy of the entrance to the kitchen, Helga now somewhat by herself as she peeked around the opening towards the back door. It was closed, Helga release a small sigh feeling her heart beat slow a bit, but she still has this awful feeling in the pit of her stomach as she walked towards the door to check it.

As Helga reached for the lock on the door she suddenly felt hands grab her shoulders, spinning her around fiercely and slamming her into the back door. This sudden action made her yelp in pain as her head hit the door hard. She opened her eyes in horror, it was him, the guy that was at the door. _How the fuck did he get in? Where the hell was he hiding_? She thought frantically. She began to struggle which made him tighten his grip causing her to wince in pain, this in turn made him smile.

Phoebe had rushed over to the entrance to the kitchen when she heard Helga yelp, looking around the corner and immediately covering her mouth to hold back the scream. She saw this unknown man holding Helga up against the door, it took everything she had to keep from crying out. She noticed Helga shift her gaze to her, a look of pure terror on her face, this also made the unknown male turn in the direction Helga was looking.

"Phoebe RUN!" Helga screamed as she then kneed the man in his gut, making him drop her. Helga made a run for the hallway, but the man was much faster tackling her to the floor and pinning her down. Phoebe and the other girls ran to Helga's bedroom locking the door behind them, they had thought about running out the front door but they couldn't leave Helga alone with this guy.

Phoebe fumble for her phone with extremely shaky hands, dialing the first person she could think of, Gerald. While Phoebe frantically waited for him to answer, Rhonda was on her phone calling the police.

**Downstairs…**

Helga lay pinned to the floor by the weight of the intruder, her mind racing as to what this guy was planning on doing. She knew she had no chance against him, even with her defense training she had, she knew that he would be too much. Her mind raced, her heart beating so fast she thought it would explode, and she just lay there waiting, tears forming in her eyes. At the same time she felt an immense anger forming in the pit of her stomach, _how dare this asshole take advantage of a girl, how dare he use intimidation to overpower my way of thinking, fuck this!_ She thought as she closed her eyes tears now streaming down her face.

The stranger leaned down to her ear, "Don't try anything stupid, girl." He had a grin on his face that infuriated Helga to her core. "I have no plans on hurting you yet. Try something stupid and I will not hesitate. There is just one thing that I want. Understand?" He said looking her right in the eyes. "Now, where is the safe?"

As he diverted his attention to their surroundings, Helga made a move, using a technique she learned in her self-defense class. Throwing him off of her in one swift move, she scrambled to her feet trying her best to put distance between them. She made it about halfway down the hallway when she felt him grab her again, this time there was a searing pain in her side making her scream out in agony.

**Chapter eleven will soon follow, but what are the opinions on this chapter? Reviews please! Thank you :)**


	11. Chapter 11 Adrenaline

**Ok, so I finally got my focus back. Well at least for now, hopefully I can keep it up to finish this story. Soooooo, here is 11, hope everyone has enjoyed the story so far. I know these last two chapters were maybe a little out there, but nothing like a terrifying experience to bring out a few emotions.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold!**

**Meanwhile the girls…**

The girls all sat huddled in Helga's room, crying. None of them knew what to do or how to help Helga, she was downstairs with that maniac and they were upstairs. Tears welled up in Phoebe's eyes as panic settled in, waiting on Gerald to answer felt like an eternity when it was only seconds.

**The guys…..**

After Arnold had text Helga earlier in the evening he decided to call Gerald and the guys to see if they wanted to just hang out. They all met at Arnold's, sitting around joking, listening to music and of course talking about whatever came to mind. I few conversations becoming pretty weird and gross thanks to Harold.

Gerald sat on Arnold's bed, telling one of his famous stories when his phone started to ring. He pause, making the guys groan, he was just getting to the good part. He raised a hand to suppress their groans as he looked at his phone, "It's Phoebe." He said with a smile and raised eyebrows.

"Oh, man just let it go to voicemail and keep on with the story." Harold wined. Gerald shot him a look, "Would you ignore a call from Rhonda?" Harold kind of went wide eyed, stumbling over his words.

"Exactly." Gerald said as he hit the answer button on his phone. "Hey babe, how's it go-…." Gerald was interrupted by a very hysterical Phoebe. Gerald's eyes widened as he shot up, startling the guys sitting around him.

"Ok, babe listen just calm down. What is going on?" Gerald's voice had started to crack as his stomach started to turn hearing his girlfriend so freaked out. The guys just stared at him, all wide eyed with questioning looks on their faces. At this point Arnold had started to get really worried, he knew that Phoebe was over at Helga's with some of the other girls.

At that moment, Gerald froze, his face showing a side of terror no one had ever seen. His eyes darted between the guys as they all shot up from where they were sitting. Harold, Sid, Stinky, Chance, and Arnold now having extremely worried looks on their faces. "Hold on I am going to put you on speaker."

The guys all huddled around Gerald trying to hear Phoebe, "Now babe try to say it slowly so we can hear you ok."

They could hear Phoebe taking a deep breath between hysteric sobs, "It's Helga…h-he….he has h-h-her!" Phoebe cried. All the guys turned their attention to Arnold who looked as if he were about to faint at her words.

"Who has Helga?!" Arnold asked in a bit of a panicked tone.

"I-I..don't k-kn-know." With that the guys all pulled out their phones to call their girlfriends.

"Phoebe, where is Helga?" Gerald said trying to hide the panic in his voice.

"He snuck in th-through the b-back door. She we-went to lock it and…." Right about that time they heard a faint scream in the background. With that the guys didn't wait for any more information, they ran out of the house and jumped in their cars. Driving as fast as they could to Helga's house, luckily the drive didn't take long since she didn't live too far away.

They jumped out of the car running up to the front door, it was locked, "Shit!" Arnold said as he quickly turned to Gerald. Then they heard a loud thud followed by Helga's scream. Gerald then motioned to Arnold and the rest to the back of the house.

**Inside…..**

Helga felt the most excruciating pain ever radiating from her side down her leg and up her back. The man spun her around and slammed her into the wall, making her scream out in pain. She winced in pain, trying her best to not pass out, and her adrenaline going full force at this point. Before she knew it she could no longer feel the pain, she took the opportunity to knee him as hard as she could in his groin. _Just one last attempt_, she thought as she slammed her knee as hard as she could into him.

He dropped almost instantly to the ground, releasing his iron grip on her. He lay in the fetal position, "You little bitch!" he said through gritted teeth. Helga jumped over him making her way to the back door, not knowing where the girls were, hoping they were safe. She glanced back seeing him struggling to his feet, _I can at least lead him away so the girls will be safe_, she thought as she turned to the back door.

**The guys…..**

They ran as fast as they could to the back door, praying that it wasn't locked too. Arnold reached for the door just as it swung open, Helga running out full force into him sending them both falling to the ground. Helga's breath was panicked as she scrambled off of Arnold, not realizing it was him at first. Arnold jump up as fast as he could, Helga was still on the ground. She suddenly turned, her eyes grew wide at the sight in the kitchen, the man had managed to regain himself and was fiercely moving towards her.

Helga jumped to her feet, adrenaline still going, "I told you, you little bitch not to do anything stupid. You just couldn't listen could you?!" The man started making his way towards Helga, a blood stained knife, about the width of his palm, in hand.

Before the man could make a last attempt at anyone they heard sirens approaching fast, the man looked up panic spreading across his face. His distraction gave Gerald enough time to hit him with a rake that was leaning up against the outside wall. This sending the knife flying out of his hand, and Harold then in turn made a move followed by Stinky, Sid, and Chance. They tackled the man down and restrained him, contorting his arms up getting a painful shriek from him.

Helga stood shaking, her arms wrapped around herself. Arnold wrapped his arms around her trying his best to calm his girlfriend down. At their closeness he felt something soaking through his shirt, it was warm, the sensation made him step back…his eyes grew wide. It was blood.

"Helga, you're bleeding!" Arnold managed the choke out, making Helga look down quickly.

At that sight, and the fact that she had started to calm which in turn her adrenaline rush had started to subside, the pain hit. She grabbed her side crying out in pain, without the effects of the adrenaline the pain came in waves full on almost crippling. She fell to her knees in pain, Arnold dropped to his knees as well cradling her as she fell into him.

Helga lay there in Arnold's embrace, fading in and out of consciousness now. Faintly she heard the police as they approached, she heard the word "Ambulance" from someone. Then "We have been looking for this scumbag for a while." Followed by he cries of the girls, her friends, _they were ok_ she thought relieved hearing them.

"Helga?" she heard a familiar voice, it was Arnold, his voice cracking. She opened her eyes to a very worried expression on his face, she might have been seeing things, but she thought for a second she saw tears in his eyes. She fluttered her eyes once more before everything went dark.

**Later…**

Helga awoke, feeling extremely drowsy, her throat was very dry which made her cough. She buckled over at the pain in her side, tears forming in her eyes. She sat back calming her breathing as the pain subsided. Looking around the room she was in realizing she was in a hospital room, _how the hell did I get here? _She thought. She thought back to the last thing she remembered, the thoughts making her breathing increase rapidly which made a monitor she was hooked up to go off. A few seconds later a nurse and doctor rushed into the room.

The doctor did a quick once over check on Helga making sure everything was ok and that she was still stable.

"How are you feeling Helga?" the doctor asked, studying her face as he waited for an answer.

Helga drew in a deep breath, "I guess I could say I have been better." She answered looking at the various tubes hooked up to her.

"Well I have to say that you were very fortunate. The injury you sustained missed any vital organs. There was a decent loss of blood, but we were able to stabilize you. You will just feel weak for a little while." He said as he jotted down notes on the chart he was holding.

"Do you feel any pain?" the nurse asked softly. Helga nodded her head in response, talking was even an effort for her at that moment. "On a scale of one to ten how would you rate your pain?" the nurse asked again.

Helga just held her hands up to show the nurse, "Ok, eight, let me go get something to help you." With that the doctor and nurse both left the room.

**The waiting room…**

Everyone that had been there to endure the event of the night now sat in the waiting room waiting to hear of Helga's condition. Rhonda was curled up in Harold's arms, holding her close to him seemed to have calmed her quite a bit. Phoebe and Gerald did the same, as well as Stinky and Nadine, Lila sat in-between Chance and Sheena, Sid sitting off to the side of them. Arnold sat closest to the door, leaning forward placing he elbows on his knees, and his head resting in the palm of his hands. It was very quiet in the waiting room, the wait seemed to just go on.

"That is twice." Rhonda said softly tears forming in her eyes, breaking the silence in the room. Harold, along with everyone else looked up at her.

"Twice what?" Harold asked her, concern filling his voice. Rhonda just looked at the floor, a single tear falling and landing on her shoe.

"I know that we never got along…she did it twice….TWICE!" Rhonda started, raising her voice slightly as she shook her head, "Why? Why would she do that?! I have been just as horrible to her…but she…." Rhonda's head fell into the palm of her hands. Everyone was now looking at Rhonda a little startled at her emotional outburst. Harold place a hand on her shoulder, "What are you talking about Rhonda?"

She looked at him, then at everyone else, "Twice…in one summer, Helga has had to save my ass twice. The first time when Big Patty threatened to beat me to a pulp, and….now, tonight." She broke into sobs, "She could have easily died, and he was so much bigger than her. I never could have stood in her place and did what she did. She risked herself to protect us." She said as she gestured to the other girls, they remained silent, nodding their heads as they began to rethink the night's events.

"Rhonda, it's ok, she is ok." Harold tried his best to reassure her.

"Helga is a strong girl, and stubborn as a mule. She'll be alright." Stinky spoke up.

"I agree…I don't think any of us guys could have done a better job." Gerald said, pulling Phoebe in tighter. Everyone nodded their heads in agreement as they continued to talked, keeping the awkward silence at bay. The conversation helping to calm everyone's nerves a little, but Arnold continued to sit in silence looking at the floor hiding his face as a single tear fell to the floor.

Right about that time everyone silenced as they heard the door knob turn and the doctor walk in. He didn't look happy, but there was no trace of upset either, he was just calm. As he stared around the room at the others, "Any family of Helga Pataki present?"

"No sir, her parents are out of town. I called them to let them know what had happened, but they claimed they could not be back until the business trip was over." Phoebe spoke up, everyone groaning at this information. "Her big sister is out of state at the moment but will be in later in the week." She concluded.

The doctor looked a little stunned, "So no relatives are here for her?" Phoebe shook her head sadly.

The doctor took a deep breath, "Well all I can tell you is that she is stable, and awake. She can have visitors here in the next 15 minutes, just try not to overwhelm her at this time. She is very weak and needs her rest, and to relax as much as possible. Understand?" He said looking at each and every person in the waiting room.

Everyone nodded in unison, the doctor then turning to walk out after giving them her room information.

**In Helga's hospital room…..**

Helga's mind was racing, thinking about everything that had happened, and how she was so happy that everyone was ok. With the exception of herself she felt that one sacrifice was better than several. Helga could hear the faint sound of rain hitting the window, this calmed her down, _rain is so relaxing_, she thought.

As she took in the piece, she then turned her attention to the door as she heard a knock, followed by, "Helga, may we come in?" It was Phoebe's voice. Helga tried her best to muster up the strength to answer, "Yes." It wasn't very loud but audible enough for Phoebe to hear. As the door opened Helga saw everyone walk in, the sight of her friends making her smile weakly. _They were all safe_, she thought. Phoebe was the first to make her way to Helga's bedside, giving her a hug. Out of everyone Rhonda seemed to be the happiest to see her, which surprised her.

Everyone stood around her talking for a few minutes, all the while Helga had noticed someone was missing. _Where was Arnold?_ She asked herself.

Once all questions had been asked and answered everyone made their way out, saying their goodbyes some promising to visit again. Helga signaled for Phoebe to come closer, "Hey, where is Arnold?" Phoebe signaled to the door, "He wanted to let everyone else speak to you first, he wanted to talk to you alone." Phoebe said. Helga sat back on the bed sighing, she was hoping that he would have been the first person in her room, but she liked the idea of being able to speak to him without everyone around.

As Phoebe gave Helga one last hug, she turned and made her way out stopping just outside the door. At the same time Helga saw Arnold round the corner, his hands in his pockets. He turned to close the door slowly, then focused his gaze on Helga. She studied his face as he walked closer, _has he been crying?_ With that he walked to her side pulling her in such a tight embrace she groaned in pain, he immediately loosened his grip, "I'm sorry!" he said a little startled.

"It's ok, it isn't as bad as before. The pain medication helps." Helga replied with a reassuring smile.

Before Helga had a chance to speak another word, Arnold had kissed her. This kiss was different, not like before, there was a feeling of longing in it as if he were kissing her like it was the last time he could. He broke the kiss leaning his forehead against hers, a single tear now trailing down his face as he closed his eyes.

"Helga…." He said almost breathless, "I have never been so scared in my life. The thought of that..that, monster hurting you….." he trailed off, his voice beginning to crack. He slowly opened his eyes, placing a hand on her cheek, caressing it as he took a deep breath.

"I don't know what I would have done had he…." He broke off.

"Arnold?" Helga said softly, now looking into his watery eyes her own began to tear up.

"I love you Helga." He said breathlessly. Helga's breath caught in her throat for a second as she processed what she had just heard, _did he just say he loves me? _Helga sat in silence for a moment, trying to process what Arnold had just said, this not going unnoticed as Arnold shifted his gaze to her face. Helga could tell that the wait was making him uncomfortable, _if this is a dream I am going to be so pissed_, she thought. This was something she had waited so long to hear, _even if this is a dream I am not going to screw this up. _

Helga placed a soft kiss on his lips, "I love you too." She said slowly. A low sigh left him, as a smile formed on his face. The two sat in the room, listening to the rain, letting their presence do the rest of the talking.

**Reviews please and thank you! More to come...**


	12. Chapter 12 Home

**So here is the next chapter as promised, everything is coming together again. There is more to come...maybe more drama?...haha...who knows. This was written kind of quickly so my apologies. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hey Arnold!**

To Helga's surprise she was being released by the next day, about 8 p.m. to be exact. Due to the fact that she had no actual family there to sign her out somehow Phoebe's parents were given that right, probably after having a lengthy conversation on the phone with Bob. Outside the hospital she saw Phoebe's parents make their way to their car, while Phoebe went over to where Gerald was waving. Phoebe signaled for Helga to follow, Gerald opening the back door for her to get in.

She gave him a strange look as he stood waiting for her, _wow he is actually being a gentleman….to me?_ She thought as she carefully leaned down to get in the car, wincing in pain as she bent down. She gripped the door tightly waiting for the pain to subside before she tried to move again, this making Phoebe run over to her.

"Oh my gosh, Helga are you ok?" Phoebe asked placing a hand on Helga's shoulder. Helga just nodded, focusing her strength on fighting the pain instead of fighting for words. She let out a long sigh as it slowly dissipated, making another attempt to getting in the car. This time she shot Gerald a grateful smile for holding the door.

"So, Helga, you are more than welcome to stay at my house since your parents are still out of town." Phoebe started, looking back at Helga, "Plus I wasn't sure if you wanted to, you know, stay alone there after…."

"It's ok Phoebe," Helga gave her friend a sincere smile, "I will be fine. Plus they will be back soon, and Bob apparently had some heavy duty locks put on the doors along with a state of the art alarm system." _He should have thought of that shit before, whatever._ She thought as she directed her attention out the window. Watching the buildings pass by in a blur.

"Are you sure?" Phoebe now had a very concerned look on her face. She did not know if leaving her friend in the house she was attacked in just a day ago, alone again, was such a good idea.

"It's ok Phoebe really." Helga said facing Phoebe, noting the worried expression on her best friends face, "I'll tell you what, I will call you if I need anything. Ok?" The look on Phoebe's face didn't change much but she nodded, not wanting to argue with Helga still being injured.

"I'll see you guys later," Helga said as she slowly got out of the car, Gerald holding the door for her again, "Thanks _hairboy_." She said passing a weak joking grin, which normally he would just roll his eyes at her comment, but this time he just smiled.

"Are you absolutely sure?" Phoebe asked through the passenger window.

"I will be fine Phoebe, don't worry. I will call you later ok?" she said as she waved goodbye to her friend and made her way into the house.

She closed the door softly and locked it, turning around hitting her back against the door and sliding down. Her hands lay limp by her side as she stared down the hall, emptiness filling her eyes. She continued to play the events over and over in her head, tears now welling up in her eyes. She had heard about stuff like this happening to people on the news before, some were not as fortunate as she was.

Helga sat there for a while before she eventually mustered up the strength the get up and walk through the empty house. _If we hadn't moved back here I wouldn't be going through this shit, I wouldn't have this awful pain in my side or these damn stitches that threaten to pop out with every move I make. But, then again, up until now this has been one of the best summers I have had here. I have had a second chance to make friends with my old friends, and-and Arnold. If I had never came back I would have never seen him again_. She began to whimper as she thought about everything that had happened over the last few months.

After a few moments of out bursts and low sobs Helga was finally able to compose herself. She walked through the hallway trying her best to put those awful images in the back of her mind. It was starting to get late so she decided to take her pain medication before bed, making double sure the locks were all locked securely.

As she lay in her bed, the effects of the pain medication starting to kick in, she began thinking about Arnold. He had stayed as much as he could with her while she was there, but he got caught up doing some stuff for his grandpa at the boarding house. He had text her saying he wasn't sure if he would be able to make it in time when she got released, but he would check in on her as soon as he could. At the thought of the last message she got from him, her eyelids began feeling very heavy.

_Helga's dream was absolutely horrid, she was in her house all alone and that man was there. He was holding the blood stained knife as he approached her, she made a run for the door, but the door disappeared. She was trapped as he got closer, seeing the look in his eyes made her knees buckle and she fell against the wall. Her side was hurting so bad she could barely stand to fight the tears. As she looked up he grabbed her by the collar and raise the knife to her throat, she couldn't move, she couldn't find the strength to fight back this time. Her arms lay limp by her side as a devilish grin spread across his face, "I told you, you little bitch not to do anything stupid. You just couldn't listen could you?!" he snarled, the smile growing wider as in one swift motion he ran the knife across her throat….._

Helga shot up from her sleep, panting and sweating profusely grabbing her throat. She began crying at the thought of seeing his face so clearly in her dreams, and how real it felt. She cried for a good while before she was finally able to calm her hysterics, grabbing her phone she noticed she had a missed call and a new text message. It was Arnold…."Hey, I am so sorry it took so long. I had way more to do than I thought. Phoebe told me you were staying at your house….are you ok?"

As she read the text she started to breath frantically again, looking at the clock, it was 1:23 in the morning. _It is probably too early, but I have to at least try_, she thought.

"Yes I am here alone…and I can't do this. I thought I could but I can't." She read her text through watery eyes before hitting send. She was not the tough shelled girl she had once been in middle school, now she was just broken, so fragile. She needed someone, someone that could help her through this and she could think of no better person.

**Arnold's…..**

He lay in his bed tossing and turning, thoughts of Helga being at her house alone after what had happened made him nervous. He also felt really bad about not trying harder to be there for her when she left the hospital. Yeah he had tried to call her earlier with no luck, so he sent a text with no reply to that as well. As he lay in his light slumber he was startled at the sound of his phone. Arnold sat up quickly, maybe a little too quickly giving him a head rush.

He looked at the name on the display, Helga, his eyes shot wide open as he also saw the time. It was about 1:23 in the morning, his heart started to beat rapidly as he thought something might be wrong.

He read the message, "Yes I am here alone…and I can't do this. I thought I could but I can't." As quickly as he could he said to hell with the text and called her back instead. The time he waited for her to answer seemed to take hours…finally.

"Hello," She sounded winded and her voice was weak.

"Helga?! Is everything ok?!" he asked quickly.

He could hear her beginning to sob, his heart now racing as he waited for her to answer him. After a brief moment he heard her take a deep breath, "No Arnold, no I'm not ok." She said between soft sobs.

"Helga, what is wrong? Do you need help?" he asked, trying his best to not let her hear how panicked he had become.

"Arnold?...I know i-its late, but do yo-you think….maybe…you co-could come over?" She said in a weak voice.

Arnold sat there for a minute, not sure if he heard her right but he knew he had.

"Arnold?" she said again, a small break in her voice this time.

"I'm still here," he started, taking a deep breath, "Give me 15 minutes?" He finally answered, simultaneously getting up and grabbing his stuff.

He heard a faint, "Ok." He decided to go out his skylight and down the fire escape, this way to keep from waking anyone. He was going to call her once he was there so she could unlock the front door.

**Helga's….**

Helga had just gotten off the phone with Arnold, she now sat in her bed her eyes now stinging from the amount of tears that had plagued them. She waited for what seemed like forever,_ I can't believe he agreed to come over this late_, she thought smiling knowing that he would soon be there and she knew she would feel much better with his company.

The sound of her phone startled her, she looked down to see she had gotten a text from Arnold, "Outside."

She slowly made her way downstairs, wearing her cutoff sweatpants that were now shorts and a random T-shirt. Her hair was in a mess laying down her back and over her shoulders, she really didn't care though. Helga unlocked the door, and almost instantly she felt a rush of relief seeing him standing there. He walked inside, Helga closing and locking the door as he stood off to the side waiting for her. She turned slowly, but was quickly met with a tight but very gently embrace.

He kissed her forehead as he held her close, the sound of his breathing and the rhythm of his heart beat made her feel so safe. She breathed him in deeply, her head spinning. She pulled away a bit so she could look at him, a smile on his face as his eyes met hers.

"Thank you for coming to my rescue." Helga said trying to lighten the mood a bit.

He let out a soft chuckle, he leaned in close to her, their noses almost touching, "No need to thank me, I will always be there for you Helga." His smile slowly fading, and hurt now in his eyes, "I am just sorry I couldn't hel….." Helga placed a finger over his soft lips.

"Arnold, there was nothing you could have done. I am just glad you and the others made it when you did." With that he pulled her in tighter, this making her groan in pain a little. He immediately loosened his grip taking a step back, "Oh, I am sorry. I forgot."

Helga just gave him a smile as she signaled for them to go sit on the couch.

"Want to watch a little TV?" She asked, her voice still very soft, as they sat on the couch, "I am not sure how long I will last. I took more pain medication before you got here. That stuff makes me very sleepy."

He smiled and reached for the remote, "Yeah, it is a little too quiet in here."

They both sat watching TV, snuggled up on the couch. Helga had lost track of time, but before she knew it she felt arms around her. She opened her eyes slightly, watching the walls move, _Wait! The walls are moving? _With that she took in a quick breath, a little startled that she was no longer sitting on the couch.

"Shhhhh….go back to sleep." Arnold said quietly, the sound of his low whisper made chills run down her spine.

He had carried her to her room, now laying her in her bed. Giving her a soft kiss on the forehead, he turned to make his way out of the room, but he felt something grab his arm. Looking down at Helga's hand on his forearm, she sat up slightly.

"Helga, you need your rest. Go back to sleep, I will be downstairs if you need me ok?" he said softly.

"Arnold?...could you…um," Helga was glad he could not see the immense amount of red now on her face. "Could you maybe….stay here…stay here with me?" She finally said, twiddling her thumbs nervously.

Arnold was a little startled by her request taking him a minute to find the words.

Helga let out a low sigh, "Never mind. Forget I….."

"Ok." He finally answered, catching Helga off guard this time. At this point she could feel her face on fire, and it only got worse as he slowly laid in bed next to her. Pulling her in close, but not so much so as to hurt her. Helga finally calmed her racing heart, getting herself comfortable, and laying her head on his chest. The sound of his heart beat, a little rapid at first much like hers, but soon slowed to a steady rhythm. She lay there listening to his heart beat, and feeling his chest rise and fall, she slowly slipped into a deep slumber.

**So? What did you as readers think about it so far? Reviews please! Thank you :) **


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